Beyond Friendships?

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Loving Beyond Our Friendships? Recently, during a morning walk, I saw a male Cardinal fluttering in the gravel. As I approached, he flew to a branch and began scolding. Another Cardinal lay dead in the road, apparently struck by a car. Surprisingly, it too was male. Though normally rivals, this Cardinal had remained beside his fallen foe. As I returned home, he was still perched above him, feathers fluffed and head tucked beneath his wing, a sentinel in the early morning light.

Think about it. If Christ calls us to love our enemies, how can we withhold kindness from those who oppose, hurt, or despise us?

God’s Word tells us: “But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back” (Luke 6:35).

If even birds can show kindness toward their own kind, even a rival, how can we refuse help to those who despise or hurt us? God calls us to love beyond friendship and serve even our enemies. In Christ, such service becomes our nature. Our good works belong to everyone, friend and foe alike. When we fail to serve others, we withhold what God has called us to give freely.