“But I say, do not resist an evil person! If someone slaps you on the right cheek, offer the other cheek also. If you are sued in court and your shirt is taken from you, give your coat, too. If a soldier demands that you carry his gear for a mile,carry it two miles. Give to those who ask, and don’t turn away from those who want to borrow.”
“You have heard it said, ‘Love your neighborand hate your enemy.’ But I say, love your enemies!Pray for those who persecute you!” Matthew 5:39-44 NLT
What is love? Many would say it is a warm romantic feeling, a powerful attraction, an ungovernable desire. Well, that’s not love; it is biology. It was good of God to give us such pleasant biology to accompany the search for a mate, but that is not love.
Love is not something you feel, but something you do (see 1Jn 3:18). It is a choice, an act of the will. You cannot command feelings, but you can command your will. So, to love is to choose the best for another at whatever cost to yourself. It is what Jesus was doing on the Cross.
“At whatever cost to yourself”? What cost? For one thing, it is the cost of vengeance. A bumper-sticker says, “I don’t get mad. I get even.” There it is. You have hurt me, I have a right to hurt you. That is justice, and God wants me to have justice, doesn’t he? Well, as a matter of fact, no. Because you see, this matter of injury is rarely one for one. I actually don’t want justice, I want revenge, and that almost always means “upping the ante.” You break my finger, I break your wrist, etc., etc.
Then Jesus comes in with this stunner. What does love cost? Not only do you not get your own back, you give the one who hurt you a blessing! You give them good in return. You don’t just grumpily say, “Well, that’s ok.” You ask, “What can I do for you?” Come on! How do you do that? Only one way. It is all tied up in that wonderful old word “Abide.” Am I in Jesus? Is he in me? Am I basking in the overflow of his love? Is his life surging through me? Then I have love to give away, and cost is not an object.
Called To Be Transformed 