“But love your enemies, do what is good…” -  Luke 6:35a (CSB)By now, you know what Jesus is asking.He is not asking for tolerance.He is not asking for politeness.He is not asking you to simply avoid retaliation.He is asking you to move.Love in this passage is active. It is directional. It moves toward people who do not deserve it. It initiates. It refuses to wait for better conditions.This is wher...  Read More

“Forgive, and you will be forgiven.” - Luke 6:37b (CSB)Most of us do not carry a physical notebook of wrongs. But we carry a mental one.We remember tone. We remember slights. We remember who apologized and who did not. We remember who owes us. And even if we do not say it out loud, we quietly keep score.This is the ledger.It feels reasonable. It feels protective. It feels like justice. But the led...  Read More

“But God proves his own love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” - Romans 5:8 (CSB)By now, loving the unlovable should feel impossible. That is intentional.If Jesus had simply said, “Love your enemies,” and left it there, the command would crush us. We would either lower the standard or drown in guilt. But Jesus does not merely command radical love. He embodies it.The ...  Read More

“Be merciful, just as your Father also is merciful.” - Luke 6:36 (CSB)Jesus does not ground radical love in personality. He grounds it in paternity.After commanding love without leverage, Jesus gives the reason: your Father is merciful. That means mercy is not optional behavior for believers. It is inherited resemblance. It is family likeness.Children reflect their father.This is not about earning...  Read More

“But love your enemies, do what is good, and lend, expecting nothing in return.” - Luke 6:35a (CSB)Jesus does not soften His command. He intensifies it.Love your enemies.Do good.Lend.Expect nothing in return.No leverage. No hooks. No contingency clauses.This is where most of us instinctively push back. Loving those who love us feels reasonable. Loving those who irritate us feels difficult. Loving ...  Read More

“If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners love those who love them.” - Luke 6:32 (CSB)Jesus asks a question that most of us would rather not sit with. If you love people who love you back… what’s remarkable about that?That question dismantles the illusion that we are more loving than we really are. Most of what we call love has fine print attached to it. We love, bu...  Read More