Luke 6:27

Here Jesus gives one of His most challenging commands: love your enemies and do good to those who hate you. He addresses it specifically to those "which hear" -- those willing to truly listen and obey. This is no soft sentiment; it is a radical call to extend active goodwill toward the very people who oppose us.

Notice that the love Jesus commands is not merely a feeling but a way of acting. "Do good to them which hate you" defines what this love looks like in practice. It is love expressed in deeds, even toward those who have shown us nothing but hostility. This goes far beyond the natural human tendency to love only those who love us back, which Jesus addresses in the verses that follow. The love He commands mirrors the kindness of God Himself, who, as Jesus says later in this passage, "is kind unto the unthankful and to the evil" (Luke 6:35). To love this way is to reflect God's own character and to break the cycle of returning hatred for hatred. This is among the hardest teachings to live out, yet it lies near the center of what it means to follow Christ. It calls us to a love that is not earned, not deserved, and not dependent on how others treat us -- the kind of love we ourselves have received from God.