Radical Love: Reflecting Christ in a Hostile World | Luke 6:27–36

Introduction

Story: In the lush hills of Rwanda, where vibrant markets buzz and children’s laughter echoes, Frida Gashumba grew up in a close-knit community. Her best friend Claudette, a Hutu, lived next door. They played together, their families shared meals, and life seemed peaceful. But in 1994, when Frida was a young girl, Rwanda’s fragile harmony shattered. The genocide began after a plane carrying the president was shot down, unleashing a planned massacre. Hutu extremists, including neighbors Frida once trusted, turned on Tutsis like her, labeling them “cockroaches.” Within 100 days, 1 million people—mostly Tutsis—were killed, including Frida’s family. Her home was looted, her parents and siblings murdered with machetes, and Frida, marked as a Tutsi, fled for her life. Miraculously, a Hutu neighbor risked his own life to hide her, shielding her from death squads. Others helped too, ashamed of the violence. Three months later, when the killing stopped, Frida was alive but orphaned, one of 300,000 children left alone, scarred by loss. After becoming a Christian, Frida wrestled with her pain. One day, God stirred her heart to forgive the man who murdered her father. She visited him in prison, trembling. The first time, fear overwhelmed her, and she fled. Weeks later, she returned, looked into his eyes, and, through tears, forgave him. Frida later wrote in her autobiography, Chosen to Die, Destined to Live, that her faith in Jesus brought a peace that “increased immeasurably” as she forgave those who destroyed her life [Web ID: Article].

Connection: Frida’s story shows that even in the darkest moments, sowing seeds of radical love—forgiveness, kindness, and mercy—can yield a harvest of healing and hope. In Luke 6:27-36, Jesus calls us to love our enemies with this same radical, Christ-like love, even in our Mississippi communities where hurts and divisions linger. Today, we’ll explore five ways to plant these seeds in our daily lives, trusting God to bring the harvest.

Scripture Context

Luke 6:27-36 is part of Jesus’ Sermon on the Plain, where He teaches disciples to live as God’s kingdom citizens in a broken world.

Luke 6:27–36 ESV

“But I say to you who hear, Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you. To one who strikes you on the cheek, offer the other also, and from one who takes away your cloak do not withhold your tunic either. Give to everyone who begs from you, and from one who takes away your goods do not demand them back. And as you wish that others would do to you, do so to them. “If you love those who love you, what benefit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. And if you do good to those who do good to you, what benefit is that to you? For even sinners do the same. And if you lend to those from whom you expect to receive, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, to get back the same amount. But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return, and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, for he is kind to the ungrateful and the evil. Be merciful, even as your Father is merciful.

Jesus uses agapate (present active imperative) to command ongoing, unconditional love for personal enemies (exthrous), reflecting God’s heart.

Following the Beatitudes, this passage shows how God’s unearned favor equips us to bless, pray for, and love those who hate or curse us.

Big Idea:

You win when you lose—loving your enemy flips the fight.

This is a call to RADICAL Love, but what does such radical love look like?

Radical Love Requires:

Main Points

Radical Patience (v. 27)

Patience is an important Christian virtue. In fact,

Patience is the queen of the virtues.

John Chrysostom

Key Idea: Loving enemies requires enduring personal wrongs with patience, trusting God’s justice over vengeance.

Scripture: Romans 12:12 (“Be patient in tribulation”) and Romans 12:19-21 (“Never avenge yourselves… overcome evil with good”).

Romans 12:12 ESV

Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer.

Romans 12:19–21 ESV

Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.” To the contrary, “if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.” Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

Biblical patience Hypomonē (ὑπομονή) is a wonderful word. Mone in the greek means to stay, to remain, but hypomone means to hyper-stay, it literally means "to remain under". It’s the ability to stay steadfast and faithful under pressure, especially trials, suffering, or persecution. It’s not passive waiting but active endurance fueled by hope in God. This is not a meek, passive submission to circumstances, but a strong, active, challenging response in which the satisfying realities of Christianity are proven in practice.

It’s a manly fortitude, a strong resistance.

One of my favorite stories of the American Revolution is the story of Samuel Whittemore. Now most of us know who Paul Revere is, he warned Patriots like Whittemore of the coming Redcoats, but most of don’t remember this man.

April 19, 1775 – Menotomy (now Arlington), Massachusetts

Samuel Whittemore was 80 years old when Paul Revere warned him of the coming British. Though he didn’t go to Concord, Menotomy was on the Road back to Boston, and so when he heard the sounds of war erupting after the battles of Lexington and Concord Whittemore was ready.

He grabbed his flintlock musket, a pair of dueling pistols, and his old French saber — souvenirs from fighting in previous wars (he had served in both King George’s War and the French and Indian War).

Whittemore in the most get off my lawn kind of way, ambushed the British from behind a stone wall, shooting one Redcoat dead, then drawing his pistols and killing two more. But before he could strike again with his sword, British reinforcements surrounded him. He was shot in the face, bayoneted 13 times, and left for dead.

But Whittemore didn’t die.

Neighbors later found him propped up, reloading his musket. He was taken to a doctor who believed he wouldn’t survive. But he did — living another 18 years, dying at the age of 98.

Whittemore didn’t just stand — he endured. He didn’t retreat, fold, or quit. He fought with everything he had, then kept standing when he should’ve been long gone. That’s hypomonē. That’s biblical patience.

It’s not weak. It’s not passive. It’s the gritty, grace-fueled endurance that says, “I may be wounded, but I’m not done. I may be knocked down, but I’m not quitting. I will remain under this — because I trust the One who is over all.”

Like Whittemore, we’re not just called to wait —we're called to stand firm in faith, to remain under pressure with hope, to endure hardship with our eyes on Christ.

Because Christian patience isn’t about surviving—It’s about proving, through trial and time, that Jesus is worth it.

Don’t just stand. Hypomonē

Application: When a coworker mocks your faith or a neighbor gossips, resist anger. Pray for patience and trust God to handle it, deescalating conflict with humility.

Illustration: Like a Mississippi farmer waiting through a drought, we endure wrongs, trusting God’s timing.

Radical Prayer (v. 28)

The next thing Jesus commands us is this

Luke 6:28 ESV

bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you.

True prayer is an extension of biblical patience. It’s the natural outflowing of it.

That patience which does not pray is obstinacy. A soul silent to God is apt to be sullen rather than submissive. Brought Up From The Horrible Pit, Volume 28, Sermon #1674 - Psalm 40:1-3

Charles Spurgeon

Praying for those who curse or abuse us seeks their good and aligns our hearts with Christ’s.

Scripture: 1 Peter 3:9 (“Do not repay evil with evil… but bless, that you may obtain a blessing”) and Luke 23:34 (“Father, forgive them…”).

1 Peter 3:9 ESV

Do not repay evil for evil or reviling for reviling, but on the contrary, bless, for to this you were called, that you may obtain a blessing.

Jesus ties prayer to blessing, calling us to extend God’s unearned favor to enemies, as He did on the cross. Prayer transforms us, not just God’s plans.

Illustration: Like Frida who prayed for the man who killed her Father, we must pray that God saves the ones who wronged us.

Prayer doesn’t change God’s HAND, it changes our HEARTS.

God is unchanging (Malachi 3:6). His will is sovereign and eternal (Psalm 33:11), but prayer aligns our hearts with God and His will (Matthew 6:10), transforming us to see as God sees and love as he loves (Phil 4:6-7).

Radical Dignity (v. 29a)

Jesus’ command to “turn the other cheek” isn’t weakness — it’s strength under the rule of love. It’s a radical response that recognizes even our enemies as image-bearers of God (Genesis 1:27).

To turn the other cheek is not to surrender to evil, but to submit to the Savior who calls us to love in a way the world can’t understand.

This isn’t passive. It’s powerful, Spirit-filled restraint. It doesn’t excuse injustice, but refuses to answer evil with evil.

Matthew 5:39 ESV

But I say to you, Do not resist the one who is evil. But if anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also.

Jesus’ call to “turn the other cheek” is a revolutionary display of God’s kingdom in a sinful world. It overcomes retaliation with Christ’s love.

Turning the other cheek is not surrender, but a divine strategy. It’s a submission not to the one attacking us, but to the very savior who calls us to it!

Some may say, I can’t do that, but that denies the power of Christ in you.

If you are a believer in Christ, you have the ability not just to love the people who love you, but to love your enemies, to turn the other cheek, to live out this incredible lifestyle.

Our vision as a church is to change our city for Christ. But here’s a truth. The City and our world will not be changed by an election, or military victory. It will be changed by God’s people living out the radical love that Christ commands here. Turning the other cheek.

Going the second mile.

This is the subversive call of Christ to take up our cross and follow him.

Radical Generosity (vv. 29b-31)

Then Jesus challenges us to something amazing.

Luke 6:29–31 ESV

To one who strikes you on the cheek, offer the other also, and from one who takes away your cloak do not withhold your tunic either. Give to everyone who begs from you, and from one who takes away your goods do not demand them back. And as you wish that others would do to you, do so to them.

Giving freely to those who take from us mirrors God’s extravagant grace, even when it feels radical.

Matthew 5:42 (“Give to the one who begs from you”) and John 3:16 (God’s gift of His Son).

Jesus calls us to give without demanding repayment, reflecting God’s grace to rebels. This generosity points to the gospel.

Generosity is a reflection to the world of God’s love.

Application: Help someone who’s wronged you—like fixing a neighbor’s fence or giving groceries to a struggling family—without expecting repayment.

Radical Mercy (vv. 32-36)

Showing mercy to the undeserving reflects God’s character and marks us as His children.

Luke 6:32–36 ESV

“If you love those who love you, what benefit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. And if you do good to those who do good to you, what benefit is that to you? For even sinners do the same. And if you lend to those from whom you expect to receive, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, to get back the same amount. But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return, and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, for he is kind to the ungrateful and the evil. Be merciful, even as your Father is merciful.

We are called to reflect the mercy Christ showed to us — and what kind of mercy is that? It’s undeserved mercy.

Mercy doesn’t respond to worthiness — it responds to need. And showing mercy is one of the clearest evidences that we’ve received mercy.

Loving those who love us is easy. That’s not radical — that’s normal. Everyone loves their kids. Everyone is kind to people who are kind to them. There’s nothing uniquely Christian about that.

But Jesus calls us higher — to a radical mercy that loves the unlovely. That forgives the unforgivable.

That reflects how God loved us in our sin — not when we were cleaned up, but when we were still His enemies (Romans 5:8).

Romans 5:8 ESV

but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

How do we do this? By forgiving someone who doesn’t deserve it—a friend who betrayed you.

By showing kindness to someone who wounded you — not because they earned it, but because Christ has forgiven you.

Show kindness to someone who wounded you — not because they earned it, but because Christ has forgiven you.

Conclusion

Jesus’ call in Luke 6:27–36 to love our enemies is radical — but possible through God’s grace. When we practice patience, prayer, dignity, generosity, and mercy, we don’t just follow Christ — we reflect Him. And that reflection has the power to transform lives.

This week, identify one “enemy” — maybe a coworker, neighbor, or even a family member who’s hurt you. Then choose one radical act of love: Pray for them. Show them kindness. Offer forgiveness.

Trust God to work through your obedience because He always does.

Remember:

You win when you lose—loving your enemy flips the fight.