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.
— Luke 6:35 (ESV)
This verse is amazing and has been beyond my comprehension. I have not been able to grasp the last part,
“…for he is kind to the ungrateful and the evil”, Luke 6:35
until I realized that we filter God’s love through eros, human love.
My mind cried out, WHAT? How can this be? How is God kind to the evil, those who have done horrible things to other humans? How can this be? Kindness to the evil? My mind says there is a special place in hell for those that are so evil! And yet, God is kind to them, to the evil and the ungrateful. Wow!
I could only see this verse through my lens and frame of love which is eros, human love! Of course, they don’t deserve love. Do you know what they have done? In spite of that, God says, “I am kind to them. I have loved each one with an everlasting love”.
God’s love is not eros love; God’s love is not based on what anyone does or doesn’t do. Agape love is based completely on the Giver, not the recipient.
As I began to see the difference between agape and eros, I understood how God is kind to the evil and ungrateful. This is agape love, a different kind of love. However, even though God loves the person who does evil, they are not exempt from the consequences they bring on themselves due to their evil and ungrateful hearts.
Psalm 139:8 says, “If I ascend to heaven, you are there! If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there!” This is the love of God. I am loved no matter where I am, where I go or what choices I make. He still loves me!
God, the Father, still loves you, no matter what you have or have not done. You are loved! There are consequences for our choices, yet there is no escaping God’s love. We can reject it, but it is still always there waiting to be received. He loves you with an everlasting love. He loves you just because you exist.
“I exist, therefore, I am loved.”
Everlasting Love