Why do we hate people the way we do?  We all have enemies.  For some, our enemies are those who have hurt or wronged us in some way.  For others, they are the ones who vote or worship differently than us.  Still for others, it is something else...something we can't quite explain.

John Wesley said the reason why the rich do not have more compassion for the poor is that they spend little time around them and thus do not know much about them or how they live. So maybe we hate the people we do because, unlike God, we are threatened by them. 

Maybe we hate them because we don't see them very much and thus we can make assumptions about how and why they think and act the ways they do.

The truth is, we sometimes wish harm on their enemies. But in Luke 6:33-35, Jesus says:

"And if you do good to those who are good to you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners do that. And if you lend to those from whom you expect repayment, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, expecting to be repaid in full. But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked."

Lend to your enemies without expecting anything in return??? That sounds crazy! But perhaps it is far more sensible than it first appears.

In Luke 12:34, Jesus says, "For where your wealth is stored, there also will your heart be" (WNT). 

In John 3:16, the Bible says that God the Father invested all of his "wealth"-his only begotten son-in his enemies. He gave his son as a gift to his enemies without expecting anything in return. In fact, they killed the gift. But God raised that gift, his son Jesus, from the dead. He was not afraid of what his enemies could do to him.

When Jesus tells us in Luke 6:35, "Love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back," he is not asking you to do something new.

Instead, he is asking you to mirror into the world-to your enemies and his-what he did, and to do so in his name. In this way, our enemies will come to see-and touch-his great love. Because the kind of love he is talking about is a long-term commitment, not a one-time act. That's the difference between loaning money to your enemies and giving it to them.

Sometimes the best gifts we can give are the ones that tie us together with our enemies for a long period of time. That gives God time to work on their hearts...and ours.

When you loan your enemies money, you will become very prayerful for them! And this is what Jesus is advocating: Tie together your well-being with that of your enemies and his.

In this way you will never forget to passionately intercede for them and do good to them.