Speak Life

Bless them that curse you, and pray for them which despitefully use you. (Luke 6:28)

What Jesus proposed in this teaching was the opposite of how the world around Him did things. Bless them that curse you is not how we naturally live. We defend ourselves when people curse us. We attack people who curse us, or at least, we desire to curse them back.

Jesus told us instead to bless them. That means we should speak life over them or speak well about them. That doesn’t mean that believers are called to be passive. On the contrary, we are aggressively kingdom-minded when we speak life while others speak death.

However, Jesus’ following command might be even more profound. He said to pray for them that despitefully use you. Jesus didn’t say to endure the difficulty and the hate that others spew but specifically to intercede on their behalf, believing that God will bless them and change them. We aren’t praying for God to change them for our benefit but for their benefit and the kingdom's sake.

Why would we do such a thing? What benefit could it produce? When we respond to hate and curses with love and prayer, we break the cycle of hatred and revenge in our realms of influence. We can transform our hearts and open the door for God to transform the hearts of those who hurt us.

People will notice something is different about you when you respond to curses with blessings. Your response to being cursed and attacked can be a powerful testimony of God's power in our lives and how He continues transforming us into His image.

Practical Application

Decide that you will speak life and faith over and about those who have attacked and done wrong to you. Purposely and aggressively refuse to gossip and talk negative about others. Speak life and change the atmosphere.

1 Corinthians 4:12; Hebrews 12:14

Love Your Enemies

But I say unto you which hear, Love your enemies, do good to them which hate you. (Luke 6:27)

Have you ever found it challenging to love someone who has wronged you? Who hasn’t? Luke recorded one of Jesus's most challenging commands in this text: to love enemies and do good to those who hate you.

The Greek word for love used in this verse is agape, which refers to a selfless, sacrificial, God-kind of love that looks for the best in others even if their actions and words say otherwise. Living out agape love is not based on how we feel, what we think, or what we have experienced. Living agape is letting His love flow through us toward others. It is making deliberate choices to allow the love of God to flow through us toward others.

When we love our enemies and do good to those who hate us, we allow the Holy Spirit to open the door for them to receive transformation. Your actions of love can soften hearts and change lives.

I know that loving our enemies is not simple, but if the Lord told us to do it, it is possible. It requires a maturity of faith to rely on God’s strength and peace to move us beyond our natural tendencies and desire, and to trust that He is changing things on our behalf.

What a fantastic testimony we show the world around us when they see believers not enacting revenge or fighting back against others but purposely loving those who are rude, mean, spiteful, and angry.

Practical Application

Look for opportunities to do good to those who oppose you. Begin with prayer and move forward into small acts of kindness or more significant gestures that allow God’s love to flow through you.

Matthew 5:44; Romans 12:14

Righteousness and Judgment

For the word of the Lord is right; and all his works are done in truth. He loveth righteousness and judgment: the earth is full of the goodness of the Lord. By the word of the Lord were the heavens made; and all the host of them by the breath of his mouth. (Psalm 33:4-6)

When believers think about justice, they should first consider God’s Word. God’s Word is perfectly righteous, just, and true because it reflects who He is. Everything that God does is done in truth, and there is no lying or deception in Him.

God delights in what is just and right. The Biblical term for this is God’s righteousness. His judgments are not arbitrary or fickle. He holds Himself and others to the content of His Word.

Understanding this is not just a theological position we take. It is also pivotal for believers who love God to know how He interacts with us. He demands justice, not by man’s laws, rules, or regulations but based on the authority of what He has spoken and written in His Word.

We should also be seekers of justice. This is not based on our political party or personal beliefs but on applying and seeking His will to be done on earth as it is in heaven. If you live in a free nation and get to vote, your vote is a seed for heaven’s results to appear in your country. Your voice is a seed to sow to others when you support God’s Word by letting others understand what you stand for. Sow effectively.

Practical Application

When you view what the world calls injustice, you must prioritize seeking God’s Word before the opinions of politicians and popular voices. What does God say about this in His Word? That is what you need to stand on and believe.

Psalm 11:7; Psalm 45:7