It is easier to do good deeds for people who love you. But I find in myself a sense of pride can creep in. I get a little bit proud of my good deeds. And I may think it will get a great reward from God. The good deeds I do for those who love me are for those who will always love me back, but loving my enemies is the ultimate challenge because I love someone who does not love me, someone who is not on my side. Most of the time, I am loving those who already love me. Do you get the same feeling?
Jesus didn’t praise the person who loved only his friends. He said it was a credit to a person for loving his enemies. So, when we really start loving our enemies, the enemies being those people who are not for us, we start getting closer to some nitty, gritty stuff. It’s this utterly challenging teaching that I mostly fail at, but desire greatly, and must apply, in the small situations and the big ones.
We mostly do what we should when we love those who love us. But we go beyond the limits when we love our enemies by doing good for them. And in doing this we are acting like Jesus when Jesus forgave his enemies.
