Everyone knows the words.  We say them all the time.  We usually have no intention of obeying them.  Love your enemy.  C’mon, who can really do that?  What’s the purpose of having an enemy if you can’t hate him or her?

Love those who love you.  We get that.  That fits our model.  It’s the model of the world, but we understand it. Tit for tat. One good turn deserves another. I’ll scratch your back if you scratch mine.

We understand these things but they are not the model that our Father in heaven has given us through Christ Jesus who came as a servant.  He came and washed feet.  He came as a sacrifice for us.

Our Father in heaven provides for the needs of those who love him and those who don’t.  We all need air and water and food.  God doesn’t withhold air for those who would curse him with it.  He demonstrated his love for us by sending Christ to die for our sins while people were in outright rebellions against him.

Our model is to love those who do not love us.  If we want to be known as disciples of Christ Jesus by our love, we must love those who do not love us and may never love us.

It’s time to do the hard stuff.  People used to say it’s time to cowboy up.  I say it’s time to Christian up.