God is love - a Lenten series 15 Love blesses its enemies

Luke 6:32 “If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners love those who love them. 33 And if you do good to those who are good to you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners do that. 34 And if you lend to those from whom you expect repayment, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, expecting to be repaid in full. 35 But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked. 36 Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.

whites only lunch counter sit-in, Jackson, Miss. 1963

I'm sure many of the people in this white mob, incensed at a black woman sitting with her friends at a whites-only lunch counter, were church-going folk. But religious folk are often caricatured for missing the point of their faith, which according to Jesus is about loving God and loving their neighbors. As the man on the left said,

“This was the most violently attacked sit-in during the 1960s. A huge mob gathered, with open police support while the three of us sat there for three hours. I was attacked with fists, brass knuckles and the broken portions of glass sugar containers, and was burned with cigarettes. FBI agents were observing inside but took no action.” —Tougaloo College professor John Salter (Hunter Bear), seated in photo with Tougaloo College students Joan Trumpauer (now Mulholland), and Anne Moody (author of Coming of Age in Mississippi).

Pop quiz......!
Who is acting like Christ in this photo? Who is turning the cheek? Who is lending their opponents good will and not demanding repayment?

If Christ lends and does not demand payment, who will be kept separated from eternity from their loving father?

I think none will.