Luke 6:27-28, 35
“But I say unto you which hear, Love your enemies, do good to them which hate you, bless them that curse you, and pray for them which despitefully use you… But love ye your enemies, and do good, and lend, hoping for nothing again; and your reward shall be great, and ye shall be the children of the Highest.”
Romans 12:20-21
“Therefore if thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst, give him drink: for in so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire on his head. Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good.”
Genesis 50:20
“But as for you, ye thought evil against me; but God meant it unto good, to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save much people alive.”
Reflection
There are encounters with Christ that do not happen in a meeting or in a moment of worship, but at the exact instant we are asked to bless someone who harmed us. It is there, at the point where our strength runs out and the wound still hurts, that we discover whether what we say we believe is real. Many know Christ with the mind; others know Him when His love flows through them toward someone who does not deserve it, and they realize that love was not their own.
That is why walking sincerely before Him includes being placed before those who hurt us most: those who betrayed us, took from us, or damaged our name. It is not that God seeks to put our pain on display. It is that these people reveal what is still in the heart: whether hidden bitterness remains, whether there is a desire for revenge disguised as justice, or whether there is already room for the Father to love through us. And in that place, His grace can do what our effort never could.
Joseph is a beautiful example. He could have taken revenge on his brothers, and instead he blessed them, recognizing that God had redirected their evil toward good. Loving the enemy does not mean denying what happened or pretending it did not hurt. Nor does it require reconciling a relationship without healthy boundaries or exposing oneself again to harm. It means releasing revenge, handing judgment to the Father, and letting good overcome evil, just as Paul describes.
And in that act something happens in the heart of the one who forgives: the prison of bitterness opens. Whoever blesses their enemy discovers that the one who walks free is themselves, and that the Father, who makes His sun rise on the good and the evil, has been forming His own nature in them.
Meditation for today
Who is the person who hurt me most, and what do I feel today when I think of them?
Is there bitterness or a desire for revenge hidden in my heart that I need to hand over to the Father?
What concrete act of blessing, a sincere prayer, a word, a gesture, can I offer today, from grace and with wisdom?
Prayer
Father, thank You that You loved me when I did not deserve it. Today I present to You the people who hurt me, took from me, or damaged my name. I hand You my pain, my desire for my own justice, and any bitterness that remains in me.
Teach me to love my enemies with Your love, not my strength. Today I bless those who harmed me and ask You to work in their lives and in mine. May good overcome evil, and may my heart be free and like Yours. In the name of Jesus, amen.
Blessings beloved
Ana Mendez Ferrell