Loving Hate (Luke 6:27-38)

Last week we saw the paradoxical relationship between weakness and strength in Christ's kingdom. This week we see how Christ would have us react to those who wrong us or oppose us. Jesus asks us to befriend our enemies, to love those who hate us, and to repay evil with good. Logic would say that is a recipe for being walked all over. Yet, have we not seen this tactic work? When we were Christ's enemies, he loved us to the point of death. He repays our daily evil with the daily goodness of his mercy. In doing so, he has won us for himself. Following the paradox Jesus lays out today is not a caving in or a capitulation to evil. It is a means of conquering it.