Discussion Questions

Pablo describes God’s love as “big enough…strong enough to love your enemies”; what does that claim suggest about what God is like toward “the unthankful and the evil,” and where do you feel resistance to believing God is that kind? JumpstartAnother way to ask: Pablo says God’s love is strong enough to love enemies. What does that say about how God treats “the unthankful and the evil,” and what makes it hard for you to believe God is really like that?

In Pablo’s “pebble in the pond” picture (love flowing from God → to God → spouse → children → brethren → neighbor → stranger → enemies), where do you see the “rings” breaking down in your own life, and what does that expose about the size of love you think God is offering you? JumpstartAnother way to ask: In the “pebble in the pond” picture (God → spouse → kids → church → neighbors → strangers → enemies), where does love break down in your life? What might that show about how much of God’s love you think you’re receiving?

Pablo says love can “dry up” because of a “plumbing problem” (blockage, sin, or being “skimpy…tightwads” with love); what specific kinds of “blockage” are most likely in a serious Christian community, and how would you recognize them before they harden into a lifestyle? JumpstartAnother way to ask: Pablo says love can dry up because something blocks it (sin, selfishness, being “tightwads”). What kinds of blockages might show up in a serious Christian community, and how can you spot them early?

Pablo insists Jesus’ command “do not resist an evil person” means “we resist evil, but we don’t resist the evil person”; how would early Christians have practiced that distinction in a world of real violence and injustice, and how does your own instinct for “justice” either fit or collide with it? JumpstartAnother way to ask: Pablo says we should resist evil but not resist the evil person. How might early Christians have lived that out in a violent, unfair world, and where does your own sense of “justice” clash with it?

When Pablo warns against misusing “give to him who asks” by describing the helmet request (“don’t you dare give him that second helmet”), how do you discern the difference between enemy-love generosity and being manipulated—and what do you think “context” is doing in Jesus’ commands? JumpstartAnother way to ask: How do you tell the difference between generous enemy-love and being used by someone? What role does “context” play when you read Jesus’ command to “give to him who asks”?

Pablo’s Elisha example (feeding the trapped enemy army) is used to argue “love stops [revenge] in its tracks”; where have you seen revenge “snowball” in your family, church, or online life, and what would it look like to attempt the Elisha strategy instead? JumpstartAnother way to ask: Where have you seen revenge grow bigger and bigger in your family, church, or online? What would it look like to stop it by doing what Elisha did—feeding the enemy instead?

Pablo highlights Eli Glick repeatedly answering kidnappers’ curses with “God bless you,” and then his wife saying “God bless you” to the robber who molested her; what do those moments reveal about how Pablo believes blessing functions spiritually, and what would need to die in you for that kind of blessing to come out of your mouth? JumpstartAnother way to ask: When people answered kidnappers and a robber with “God bless you,” what does that show about what Pablo thinks blessing does spiritually? What would have to change in you to speak like that to someone hurting you?

Pablo says non-resistance became a “tremendous testimony” because neighbors watched it lived out, and he connects robberies to church growth (“15 robberies and 15 members…40 robberies…40 members”); how does that calculus confront modern assumptions about safety, success, and “God’s protection,” and what do you think God values in those stories? JumpstartAnother way to ask: Pablo says non-resistance became a strong witness, and that more robberies led to more church members. How does that challenge what we think about safety, success, and God’s protection, and what do you think God cared about in those stories?

Pablo admits fantasizing about using a metal baseball bat, then says he had to “renounce that” and stop pre-planning; what do your own mental rehearsals (arguments, lawsuits, self-defense scenarios, “comebacks”) reveal about what you’re trusting, and what does it mean practically to “decide…no violence, never”? JumpstartAnother way to ask: Pablo had to stop imagining violent self-defense and “renounce” it. What do your own mental practice runs (arguments, lawsuits, comebacks, defense plans) show about what you trust, and what would “no violence, ever” look like for you?

In the Sapotikum robbery story, the group prepared gifts (including Bibles and a note: “Jesus loves you and I do too”), prayed “Lord, please send them,” offered land and a cow, and Pablo felt prompted to hug a man with a pistol; what does this scene teach about God’s purpose in enemy encounters (“God did all he could”), and how would your church look different if it prepared for enemies the way they did? JumpstartAnother way to ask: In the robbery story, they prepared gifts, prayed for the robbers to come, and even hugged a man with a gun. What does that say about why God allows enemy encounters, and how would your church change if it prepared for enemies like they did?