06/30/2026
https://www.bible.com/verse-of-the-day/LUK.6.28/60141
Luke 6:28 NIV
"Bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you."
What does it mean to bless someone? To bless someone means to speak well of them, extend grace to them, or ask God to show them His favor, mercy, and protection. To curse someone means to wish evil upon them or invoke divine judgment against them. In Scripture, cursing is more than profanity; it is the desire for harm, suffering, or ruin to come upon another person.
The world tells us to get even, defend our pride, or take revenge on those who hurt us. Jesus says the exact opposite: bless them and pray for them. Prayer, when offered with a heart that is in right standing with God and aligned with His Word and His will, is heard, honored, and received by our Heavenly Father.
Jesus is preaching and teaching about many things that seem to stand in opposition to one another: blessings and woes, love and hate, prayer and cursing, heavenly responses and earthly responses. Throughout this chapter, Jesus teaches His disciples that the attitudes of the heart produce words and actions that reveal whether we are living according to the kingdom of God or according to the ways of the world.
The world hated Jesus, and Jesus told His disciples that the world would hate them as well. Yet we are still called to love, pray for, and bless those who hate us, mistreat us, and curse us because of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. "Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing." I can think of no greater example than this. Jesus was beaten, flogged, mocked, and crucified in the most humiliating and excruciating manner of His day, yet He prayed for those who were putting Him to death.
So when someone steals your parking spot at the grocery store, offer them a shopping cart and a kind word instead of a rebuke or an angry look. When someone tells you that they think you're number one with a hand gesture in traffic, simply pray for them as you continue down the road. We have all heard the saying that kindness is free. That may be true when kindness is random and unwarranted. But kindness shown in response to hatred is not free. It costs us our fleshly pride and requires the strength of the Holy Spirit working within us.
The kindness of God was not free. The blood of Jesus was not free. Grace came at an immeasurable cost to Christ, yet it is freely given to us. Even while we were sinners, Christ loved us, died for us, and prayed that forgiveness would be made available to us. Nothing we endure can compare to what He endured for our sake.
We love because He first loved us. Show that same love to others so they may experience the love and grace of Christ that none of us deserved, yet He freely offers to all who will receive Him.
