Loving those who love us is natural, conventional, and easy. But when Jesus commands us to love our enemies, he calls us to a standard that is completely counter-cultural. It is arguably the most difficult and radical command in the entire Sermon on the Mount.
How can we possibly extend grace to those who wish for our failure, treat us with hostility, or cause us deep resentment? The truth is, we cannot find the power to do this within ourselves. To love our enemies from the root of our hearts, we must first look to how God loved us: by moving toward us and dying for us while we were still his enemies. Let's look at this radical calling under three headings: 1) how the world keeps this command, 2) how God keeps it, and 3) how the Christian can keep it.
