Click this link to hear an audio version of the below text narrated by SOTH member Al Campbell:
Luke 6:27-31 (NIV)
27 “But to you who are listening I say: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, 28 bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. 29 If someone slaps you on one cheek, turn to them the other also. If someone takes your coat, do not withhold your shirt from them. 30 Give to everyone who asks you, and if anyone takes what belongs to you, do not demand it back. 31 Do to others as you would have them do to you.
This is one of my top 10 favorite pieces of advice. It’s especially easy to say while sitting in a coffee shop listening to someone vent about something that happened to them; something I was not involved in. This is amazingly easy advice to give: “Love your enemies”. (Luke 6:27a) It even sounds like something a Christian would do. I will tell you from personal experience, it can be rather difficult to put into practice! Furthermore, it’s only the beginning of the verse! Jesus has more to say on this topic! As followers of Jesus, he teaches us to repay evil with good and respond to curses with blessing. Not an easy task, and that’s still not the end of the verse! We really are called to live a different kind of life. I’m so thankful for SOTH; to have a community like this to practice this radical type of love and grace within. What a blessing! Now, off we go… loving our enemies, together.