Lord, as we open Your Word, be gentle with our hearts.
Guard every wounded place, and let nothing we say add harm—only light, comfort, and truth. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
“But love your enemies, and do good…” – Luke 6
(A Tender Unpacking)
When we read, “Love your enemies, and do good…” (Luke 6:27, 35), it can land like a heavy stone on a grieving heart.
Especially when:
- “Enemies” have faces and names we know.
- Their choices touched our child, our family, and our safety.
- People have already used Scripture like a weapon to rush or silence our pain.
So first, let’s say this clearly:
God’s Word is never meant to crush the wounded.
It is intended to free, heal, and gently lead.
When Jesus said, “love your enemies, do good, bless, pray,” He was speaking to people who knew injustice, oppression, and mistreatment. He wasn’t naïve. He wasn’t siding with abusers. He was inviting His followers into a different kingdom—the kingdom of the Son of His love (Colossians 1:13).
What “Love Your Enemies” Does Not Mean
Loving our enemies does not mean:
- Pretending the wrong wasn’t wrong.
- Acting like betrayal didn’t happen.
- Letting people keep hurting us.
- Re-entering unsafe relationships.
- Silencing our grief so others feel comfortable.
God does not call us to deny truth to qualify as “loving.”
He is the truth. He never asks us to step out of truth to obey Him.
What “Love Your Enemies” Can Look Like in Deep Grief
For a heart shattered by loss and injustice, love for enemies will often begin microscopically small—almost invisible to others, but known by God.
Sometimes, “do good” is:
- Choosing not to seek revenge, even though your pain screams for it.
- Refusing to speak evil in return—even if you still need to cry, “Lord, I am so angry.”
- Placing their judgment into God’s hands, instead of carrying it in yours.
- Whispering, “God, I don’t know how to love them—but help me not be consumed by hate.”
Sometimes, “pray for those who mistreat you” starts as:
“Lord, You deal with them. I can’t. My heart is too broken. But I give this into Your hands.”
That, too, is a kind of love.
It is not affection.
It is not closeness.
It is not trust.
It is a refusal to let bitterness have the final word over your soul.
God Knows Your Capacity
Jesus, the One who commands us to love our enemies, is also the One who:
- Was rejected by His own relatives.
- Lied about, slandered, mocked.
- Abandoned by His closest friends in His hour of greatest sorrow.
- Crucified in an act of violent injustice.
He is not talking to you from a safe distance.
He is speaking as One who has walked through betrayal, violence, and injustice Himself.
So when He says, “love your enemies, and do good,”
He is not:
- dismissing your pain,
- minimizing your loss, or
- asking you to “just get over it.”
He is inviting you, slowly, into a place where:
- Their sin no longer owns your inner world.
- Their choices do not define the rest of your story.
- Your heart begins to breathe in the light of His kingdom, not the darkness of their actions.
This is not a single moment.
It is a journey—and He walks every inch of it with you.
Sacred Pause: Sitting With Luke 6 in the Ruins
Take a quiet breath.
Put your hand over your heart if you can.
You are not here to “perform forgiveness.”
You are here to sit with Jesus in truth.
Step 1: Bring Your Honest Heart
Whisper honestly:
“Lord, when I hear ‘love your enemies, and do good,’
I feel _______ (tired, angry, confused, pressured, afraid).
Please meet me here.”
You don’t have to fix your feelings before you speak them.
He already knows.
Step 2: See Jesus Standing Between You and Your Enemies
Picture the ones who dismissed you, lied to you, gossiped about you, or minimized your grief.
Don’t stay too long—just enough to acknowledge the truth.
Now, see Jesus step between you and them.
He is your shield, your Advocate, your High Priest who understands.
He is not pushing you toward them.
He is standing in front of you, saying:
“You are Mine.
Your heart is precious to Me.
I will guard you as we walk through this.”
Let that image settle.
Step 3: A Very Small “Yes”
Ask yourself, very gently:
“Lord, is there one small way
I can refuse bitterness today.
without denying my pain?”
If the answer is “No, I’m not ready”—
He does not turn away from you.
He stays.
If the answer is “Maybe I can stop rehearsing their words today,”
or “Maybe I can say, ‘God, You deal with them'”—
offer that tiny “yes” to Him.
That is not a betrayal of your beloved.
That is not a betrayal of justice.
That is a mother’s heart choosing not to be swallowed by darkness.
Step 4: Entrust Justice to God
Very softly, you might pray:
“Lord, You see everything that was done.
You know every lie, every dismissal, every injustice.
I place their actions, their consequences, and their judgment.
Into Your hands—not because it doesn’t matter,
but because it matters too much for me to carry.”
Let your shoulders loosen, even a little.
A Gentle Blessing for Your Heart
May the Lord guard your tender places as you sit with these words.
May He protect you from Scriptures being used as weapons.
May He Himself be the One who interprets “love your enemies” to your heart—
step by step, tear by tear, without rushing, without shame.
And may you discover, in time, that His call to love your enemies
was never about excusing their sin—it was about rescuing you from its shadow.