Abundant Love

"You have heard that it was said, 'Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth.' But I tell you, Do not resist an evil person. If someone strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also. And if someone wants to sue you and take your tunic, let him have your cloak as well. If someone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles. Give to one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you.

"You have heard that it was said, 'Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.' But I tell you; Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? And if you greet only your brothers, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that?" Matthew 5 : 38 - 48

We all have stories of being wronged.  I have a million stories from bad drivers alone and my initial reaction is to get justice.  I want that bad driver to know how mad I am.  But when has retaliation ever been helpful for either person?  The 'eye for an eye' mentality is not what we are called to.  We are called to love.

But we can talk about the desire towards revenge all night.  I want to focus on one word: more.  In the Greek, the word translates to abundance.  When Jesus challenges us to do more, He is not suggesting we do a little extra.  He is suggesting we do over and above what is expected.  To love people as lavishly as possible.

On paper this seems pretty straightforward.  All you have to do is love your enemies!  But have you ever tried loving unlovable people?  I have a hard enough time loving my friends, let alone that annoying girl in my class, the guy that just cut me off, or my evil professor.

You can either hate your enemies, not hate them, or love them.  Don't misinterpret "not hate" as "love."  Jesus doesn't call us to ignore enemies.  He calls us towards active love.  Love that takes effort, thought, and a humble heart.

Lucky for you, a famous dead guy wrote out the 9 steps to loving well.

1. Do not take evil initiative
2. Do not avenge another's evil
3. Be quiet (verbally, but also on Twitter, Facebook, or a blog)
4. Suffer wrongfully
5. Surrender even more than is demanded of us
6. Do not hate the evil doer
7. Love the evil doer (Ryan gave the example of feeding a robber while calling the cops)
8. Do good for the evil doer
9. Pray for them (nice prayers)

This is hard.  It's hard not to hate, it's hard to love, and it is really hard to love abundantly.  But will you do it with me?  I encourage you to search your heart.  How are you tempted to retaliate and how can you set that aside to love lavishly?  And how do we love so abundantly? Share in a comment, it's great to hear other opinions.  

Take this to God.  It's a very personal decision and it looks different for everyone of us.  But pray, talk to someone you trust, and have them pray for you.  None of us have this figured out, but together we can encourage each other.