“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: for he is kind unto the unthankful and to the evil.” —Luke 6:35
Luke 6:35 makes one of the most amazing statements in the Bible...
“he
is kind unto the unthankful and to the evil.” Whereas this sinful
world is mean, cruel, and hateful toward those who are good (2nd Timothy
3:3; John 15:19); the Bible says that God is kind to those who do evil and
are unthankful, and God expects us to do likewise as Christians.
Few believers ever grow strong enough in the Lord to fulfil the teachings in Luke Chapter 6. Very few professed Christians love their enemies, pray for those who despitefully use them, bless them who curse, and give without hoping for something in return. These are unpopular teachings today, and few believers obey them...
Matthew 5:44-46, “But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you; That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust. For if ye love them which love you, what reward have ye? do not even the publicans the same?”
Why do good things happen to bad people? The Bible says that God is kind to all humanity, including to those who are evil and unthankful. That is quite amazing. Jesus teaches for us to be like unto our heavenly Father, loving the unloving and forgiving the unforgiving. God gives the same rain, making the crops to grow to feed the wicked and the righteous alike. The wicked eat of the same field as the righteous. God provides for all.
Albeit, God's longsuffering and patience won't endure indefinitely. The Bible plainly teaches that death is inevitably approaching, “but after this the JUDGMENT” (Hebrews 9:27). God gives everyone the same opportunity to be saved. Titus 2:11, “For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men.” We read in Romans 1:20, “For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse.” No one will be afforded any excuses on Judgment Day.
The world is filled with ingrates and Christ-rejecters today who don't care about others. They are selfish, self-centered, self-conscious, and self-righteous. Sadly, many professed Christians are no better than the heathen; being malicious, vindictive, and filled with hatred. These are the wicked who recommend divorce, abortion, and despise others.
There are many mean and cruel people in the world, who are filled with madness, hating others for things as trifle as not responding to an e-mail. The world has gone insane these days. The Bible tells us to work at living peaceably with others by letting God sort them out on Judgment Day. This is a PROMISE from God...
Romans 12:18-20, “If it be possible, as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men. Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord. 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.”
The Bible cautions us not to be overcome by the evil of others; but rather, to return kindness and love for their malicious hatred and rest assure that God will bring every word and work to light on Judgment Day (Matthew 12:36). 1st Corinthians 3:13, “Every man's work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man's work of what sort it is.”
Notice that in Romans 12:20 that God says by doing good to our enemies that we HEAP COALS OF FIRE ON HIS HEAD for Judgment Day. It is a matter of faith. People who doubt God's Word that He will repay the wicked tend to take matters into their own hands instead. The Lord PROMISES in verse 19 that he WILL REPAY. The Greek word for “repay” in Romans 12:19 is antapodidomi and means “to requite,” that is, to recompense (good or bad). No one is going to get away with anything, and no good deed will go unnoticed (Mark 9:41).
God is kind to the unthankful and to the evil because of His wondrous unconditional love, patience, and mercy; but apart from the blood sacrifice of Jesus Christ, the WRATH OF GOD still abides upon the unsaved every day of their earthly life (John 3:36; Psalm 7:11). Jesus healed the 10 lepers, knowing that only 1 would glorify God with a thankful heart (Luke 17:17). Although God loves them and still provides for them, it is only because He is patiently waiting for them to repent as 2nd Peter 3:9 teaches. If a person is not saved, God's wrath is weighing down upon them every second of every day, although they are still enjoying the goodness and kindness of the great God of the universe.
They're digging their own grave day-by-day, heaping coals of fire upon their head. The Bible teaches in 2nd Peter 2:4-6 and 9 that if God spared not the angels that sinned, nor the world that sinned in Noah's day, nor the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah that sinned, then nether will He spare any of the unjust. God's kindness will soon come to an end, the good times will come to a screeching halt, the tables-will-be-turned, and 2nd Peter 2:9, “The Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly out of temptations, and to reserve the unjust unto the day of judgment to be punished.”
Hebrews 10:13, “From henceforth expecting till his enemies be made his footstool.”
