EMPOWERED Love: Love Your Enemies

Luke 6:27-36 | “But to you who are willing to listen, I say, love your enemies! Do good to those who hate you. Bless those who curse you. Pray for those who hurt you. If someone slaps you on one cheek, offer the other cheek also. If someone demands your coat, offer your shirt also. Give to anyone who asks; and when things are taken away from you, don’t try to get them back. Do to others as you would like them to do to you. “If you love only those who love you, why should you get credit for that? Even sinners love those who love them! And if you do good only to those who do good to you, why should you get credit? Even sinners do that much! And if you lend money only to those who can repay you, why should you get credit? Even sinners will lend to other sinners for a full return. “Love your enemies! Do good to them. Lend to them without expecting to be repaid. Then your reward from heaven will be very great, and you will truly be acting as children of the Most High, for he is kind to those who are unthankful and wicked. You must be compassionate, just as your Father is compassionate. 

• What instructions does this passage give us for those who hurt or hate us?

• Can you think of anyone who you would consider an enemy, hurtful, or hateful? How do you want them to treat you? Are you treating them this way yourself (like Luke 6 instructs us to)?

• Imagine if God was only kind to those who were thankful and good. Who would that leave out?

• Luke 6 instructs us to act like children of the Most High, who is God! Does the way you treat others, especially those who frustrate, annoy, or hurt you, match the behavior of God’s child? Why or why not? What will you change?

• How does loving your enemies and being kind to those who hurt you show Jesus to others?