Jesus’ teaching here cuts straight against our instincts. Everything in us wants to protect ourselves from people who hurt us or make life difficult. Yet Jesus calls us to love them—and not just in words, but through prayer and compassion. He’s not asking us to feel warm emotions toward those who wrong us, but to actively seek their good, just as the Father does.
Loving enemies doesn’t come naturally. It challenges our pride and exposes how much we depend on God’s Spirit to live like Him. But this is what sets followers of Jesus apart. The world expects retaliation or silence, but love chooses a different way. When we respond to hostility with grace, we show that our hope isn’t in getting even—it’s in reflecting the mercy we’ve already received.
Each act of forgiveness becomes a small reflection of the cross. Jesus prayed for those who crucified Him, and now He calls us to carry that same posture into our relationships. Loving when it’s hard doesn’t excuse what’s wrong—it simply trusts God to handle what we can’t. And in doing so, it softens hearts, including our own.