In Luke 6, Jesus is teaching a radical departure from human action and describing just how different His Kingdom is from anything people experienced before. Observe:
“But I say to you who hear, Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you.” (Luke 6:27-28 ESV).
Think about this for a moment. Jesus isn’t teaching that we simply avoid striking out against our enemies. He’s not teaching that we should simply ignore them. Jesus is telling us to seek out the best interest of those who hate us and those who mistreat us. Sometimes we hear...
“To one who strikes you on the cheek, offer the other also, and from one who takes away your cloak do not withhold your tunic either.” (Luke 6:29 ESV).
...and we think that this is the extent of my responsibility; simply withhold vengeance and refuse to get into an altercation. But what Jesus is asking goes far beyond simply withholding vengeance. Notice, He said: Love, do good, bless, and pray. These are action words that require us to be something more than a pacifist.
And Jesus is not talking about someone who simply cut you off in traffic; someone who you don’t know. Jesus said it is for our enemies to whom we are to do good. Enemies are the people who hate us and wish us harm. These are the people who may go out of their way to make our lives difficult.
When was the last time we sat down and prayed for someone who has made themselves an enemy to us or our family? When was the last time we did good for them? When was the last time we truly hoped in our heart that only good would come to them?
When was the last time we truly put the Lord’s Golden Rule into effect for the people who would never do that for us? You remember what the Lord said:
“And as you wish that others would do to you, do so to them.” (Luke 6:31 ESV).
Kingdom living is not always an easy thing to do. But that’s what being a Christian means. It’s living a radical life that people who are watching notice. And why would we live this way? This is the question that the world will be asking. And do you know what we tell them? We explain “why” by teaching them what Jesus teaches us.
“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).
You see, this is what makes us different from the world. This is something people will notice and many will want to know why we treat people who hate us, who wrong us, who attack us- why we treat them in such a good way. People will understand Jesus’ observation when he says,
“If you love those who love you, what benefit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. And if you do good to those who do good to you, what benefit is that to you? For even sinners do the same.” (Luke 6:32-33 ESV).
And yet, by loving our enemies, we can teach people something amazing about our God; about the King we serve. We can teach them that we act in a radical way toward our enemies because Jesus acted that way toward us when we were His enemies. And we are just being His disciples when we do good to those who wish us harm.
Very few things we do as Christians can show the power of the Gospel more than when we live like Jesus. May we all fight the urge to be like the sinners when it comes to the way we treat others by learning to show mercy when mercy is not deserved.
“Be merciful, even as your Father is merciful.” (Luke 6:36 ESV).
In my daily Bible reading, I’m in Esther. It’s a book that demonstrates the power of God without ever mentioning God. But one verse caught my attention that I had not really paid much attention to before.
Haman had passed a law that all Jews would be slaughtered and plundered on a specific day. We know the story- Haman’s evil plot became known to the King and he was killed on the same 50-foot gallows he erected for Mordecai to be hung on. Then Queen Esther approached the king to request that the order which Haman had decreed be repealed:
“And she said, “If it please the king, and if I have found favor in his sight, and if the thing seems right before the king, and I am pleasing in his eyes, let an order be written to revoke the letters devised by Haman the Agagite, the son of Hammedatha, which he wrote to destroy the Jews who are in all the provinces of the king.” (Esther 8:5 ESV).
What struck me is the honor and respect in which she, the queen, addressed the king. She humbled herself, made her request, and respected his will as supreme. She didn’t demand her way, nor did she make her request with expectations.
This is the way we need to approach our King- the King of kings. When we go before the throne of God, we need to have the same reverence for our King that Esther showed for her king. Ours is far greater, far more worthy of glory and honor.
The next time we go before the throne of God, let’s do so with the same honor and respect that Queen Esther had when she approached King Ahasuerus.
In this holiday season, there is a lot of thought centered around gift giving and gift receiving. While there is definitely a commercial aspect to the season that we are approaching, there is also a fundamental spiritual nature to the gift-giving that has our minds and hearts center on this time of year.
Paul quotes one of the most famous sayings of Jesus, interestingly enough, a quote we only know about from Paul, a quote never recorded in the Gospels:
“In all things I have shown you that by working hard in this way we must help the weak and remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he himself said, 'It is more blessed to give than to receive.'“ (Acts 20:35 ESV).
It is more blessed to give than to receive.
And so, we have a choice in how we not only approach the holiday season, but in every aspect of our Christian life all year long. Do we focus on being a giver or a receiver? And while there is nothing wrong with receiving gifts (for by nature, if there is a giver, there must also of necessity, be a receiver), do we seek after giving or receiving more?
Even in the Gospels, we see this quote of Jesus living strong. On Judgment Day, Jesus commends those who are givers:
“For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.'“ (Matthew 25:35-36 ESV).
I would encourage all of us who wear the name of Christ to consider how we can be more of that which the King says is “more blessed.” How can we give our time, our money, our food, our attention, and our calendars?
Enjoy being the receiver during this holiday season, but do so with a remembrance and an appreciation that it is even better when we ensure that we are also givers.
In my daily Bible reading, I am in the book of 1 Samuel. In Chapter 15, King Saul is told by Samuel to wait 7 days for him and Samuel would sacrifice to the Lord before the King goes into battle against the Amalekites. These people were devoted to destruction by the Lord.
You know the story. Saul waited the 7 days, but the people of Israel were frightened and fleeing. Mistake 1 that Saul made was putting his trust in his military might instead of the Lord. In his eyes, he had to act to preserve his strength.
Mistake 2 that Saul made was panicking and not resting in the Lord when things look bleak. Friends, when things look bleak for us, that’s the worst time to panic and try things our way. That’s the time we need most to live by faith and trust in the Lord. For the Lord is a Lord who delivers when all seems lost. His ways are indeed higher than our ways.
Mistake 3 that Saul made was in doing things his way and not the Lord’s way. Rather than waiting for Samuel to offer the sacrifice, Saul offered it by his own hand. And the sad thing was that Saul had waited 7 days but he sinned when salvation was but only hours away. If he had only waited a short time, Samuel would have been there. How many times have we taken things into our own hands just as the Lord was ready to deliver us because we acted too soon?
And mistake 4 was Keeping King Agag and his choice flocks alive, rather than devoting them to destruction. What a willful, self-centered sin that totally disregarded the commands of the Lord. And then when confronted with his sins, King Saul has the audacity to do what I fear we often do when confronted with our sins:
“And Saul said to Samuel, “I have obeyed the voice of the LORD. I have gone on the mission on which the LORD sent me. I have brought Agag the king of Amalek, and I have devoted the Amalekites to destruction.” (1 Samuel 15:20 ESV).
Rather than have a heart of repentance and confess his sins and seek the Lord’s forgiveness, he refuses to even acknowledge his condition before God, convincing himself that he has done nothing wrong. This is the most dangerous and sad condition we can find ourselves in. When we get to the point where we can blatantly live in rebellion to God and say, “I have obeyed the voice of the Lord,” then we are in danger of passing a point of no return in our willingness to live a life in obedience to God.
I urge us all to have a heart that is tender toward God, a heart that is eager to seek out His will and a spirit of repentance and godly sorrow when the Word of God sheds light on our sins and convicts us. Otherwise, we are living in the most dangerous condition we can live in.
“For if we go on sinning deliberately after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a fearful expectation of judgment, and a fury of fire that will consume the adversaries.” (Hebrews 10:26-27 ESV).
This is pure speculation, but I wonder if the angels in heaven could watch everything that the Lord God Jesus was doing on the earth?
If so, I wonder if they were waiting with swords drawn for the Father to utter, “Go!” as they watched the Jewish people cry, “Crucify Him! Crucify Him!”
I wonder if they were straining to keep still when the Romans were beating, mocking and nailing Him?
I wonder if their ears tingled when Jesus asked Peter if he knew that He could ask the Father to send 12 Legions of angels?
I wonder if the enemies of the Lord God Jesus knew just how close they could have come to utter annihilation and defeat?
My King showed His tremendous strength in enduring the cross and not giving up on the Father’s will. How many of us could do what He did with such deliverance only a breath away?
Could the angels see everything that was going on with Jesus? Just speculation on my part...
I do not always have to understand “how'' or “why”.
I know that my human reasoning does not compare to God’s perfect knowledge and understanding.
Faith is the step beyond what I can see into the trust that I cannot see.
Sometimes, I just need to take what Jesus says at face value rather than try to figure out all the “whys” and “hows”.
It is enough that God said it and that settles it.
Perhaps, if the Lord will reveal to me answers in heaven, I will look back on my struggles to believe with embarrassment as I easily see answers to the dots I earnestly desire to see connected.
Or I may never know. Even in heaven, God will still be so far above me.
So, today, I choose to believe in faith.
I will praise and worship Him today, as I will in heaven.
And I will not be any worse having never attained to the knowledge that God possesses.
“How” is in the accepting of the Lord as my Savior.
“Why” is because He told me that His way is the only way.
It is one thing to believe that God will not let anything bad happen to you.
It is another thing to believe that no matter what happens to you, God will help you endure it faithfully.