Love, Do Good, Bless, Pray...

Luke 6:27-28

27 But to you who are listening I say: LOVE your enemies, DO GOOD to those who hate you, 28 BLESS those who curse you, PRAY for those who mistreat you.

One of the most difficult passages to read, to embrace, and to put into practice is found in Luke 6.  It is actually a quite simple passage of Scripture; it is actually easy to understand.  However, the difficulty comes in embracing it and in doing it.  Let me be clear from the very beginning.  The Bible tells us in Romans 3 that we are all sinners, that none of us seek God, that none of us seek to do good in and of ourselves.  Romans 3 tells us that our "throats are open graves" and that our "tongues practice deceit."  We need to know exactly who we are because of our sin, and we need to know the devastation of our sin because of the separation from God our sin has caused.  We also need to know that God loves us, and God has done something about sinful condition and sinful circumstances.  Romans 5 tells us all about God's great love, that "while we were still sinners, Christ died for us."  Did we deserve that?  Did we earn that?  Absolutely not!  It is God's grace poured out and given to us, and that is it.  Now, let's get back to Luke 6.

In Luke 6:12, the Bible tells us that Jesus went to the mountainside to pray and that He actually spent the entire night there on the mountainside praying to God the Father.  I believe He was praying about the message He was going to deliver the next day.  I believe He was praying for His disciples and for anyone and everyone who would hear the message He was going to preach.  That message would be a message that many, if not all of them, probably had never really heard before and a message that probably went against the grain of their culture and their society and their human nature.  Jesus said to them in Luke 6:27-28, "But to you who are listening I say: LOVE your enemies, DO GOOD to those who hate you, BLESS those who curse you, PRAY for those who mistreat you."  Again, these words are not difficult to understand.  The difficulty comes in application.  When someone comes against you and comes against your principals and your values, it is easy to call them an enemy.  Our human nature, our sinful nature, leads us to fight the enemy, to push back against the enemy, and/or to hurt the enemy.  As Christ followers, we are called to live differently.  Actually, we are called to love differently.  Jesus clearly shows us and tells us the right way to live with our enemies.  We are to LOVE them, DO GOOD to them, BLESS them, and PRAY for them.  Jesus actually continue this conversation with His disciples and with all those who came to see Him and to hear Him that day.  In verses 29 and 30, Jesus tells us to turn the other cheek when we are slapped.  He tells us that if someone takes our coat then give them our shirt, as well.  He tells us that is someone takes something from us not to demand it back.  And in Luke 6:31, Jesus says, "Do to others as you would have them do to you."  

If you turn on the television or if you turn on your computers, I wonder how much you see of this passage of Scripture being embraced and lived out today?  And I am not talking about non-believers; I am talking about professing Christ followers.  I am talking about me and my faith family!  I am talking about leaders in whom we trust and in whom we support and in whom we follow!  I wonder today do we even care about our sanctification?  When we repent of our sin and confess Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, the Bible tells us that we are changed in an instant and that we are baptized with the Holy Spirit of God.  From that moment forward, we are being sanctified, which means we should become more and more like Jesus in the way that we talk and in the way that we walk.  I don't believe we have a LISTENING problem; I believe we have an OBEYING problem.  Jesus' words are absolutely clear, not only in this passage found in Luke 6, but in every passage of the Bible.  He clearly tells us what is right and what is wrong.  We either embrace it, or we reject it.  Our world is broken because of sin.  Our world is suffering because of sin.  God has given us His amazing grace and love in the form of Jesus.  God has rescued us and redeemed us as Christ followers, and God has given us the ability to be vessels of His grace and love to a world that desperately needs it.  However, if we pick and choose which words and passages to embrace and reject others, are we really being the vessels God created and enable us to be?  As Christ followers, we are called to LOVE, DO GOOD, BLESS, and PRAY...for one another, yes, but for anyone and everyone else, as well, including our enemies.  Jesus goes on in Luke 6 with more powerful words.  He says in verses 32-36, "If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you?  Even sinners love those who love them.  And if you do good to those who are good to you, what credit is that to you?  Even sinners do that.  And if you lend to those from whom you expect repayment, what credit is that to you?  Even sinners lend to sinners, expecting to repaid in full.  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.  Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful."  In verses 37-49, Jesus goes on to discuss judging others, bearing good fruit, and building wisely.

I don't know about you, but when I look around I don't see much mercy, much love or good or blessing or praying.  I don't see much obedience when it comes to this passage of Scripture.  And let me be clear, I am looking in the mirror first.  I am looking at me first.  It begins with me!  I don't have a hard time reading God's Word or listening to the words of Jesus; I have a hard time obeying, especially when it comes to my enemies.  However, as a Christ follower, if I am truly humble before God and if I have truly surrendered my life to God, then I will repent of my sin daily and obediently walk before Him.  Am I perfect?  No.  But His command found in Matthew 5:48 is one again simple: "Be perfect, therefore, as your Heavenly Father is perfect."  As a Christ follower, I strive each day to walk as Jesus walked, which means I want to live as He lived and love as He loved.  I have to choose this daily.  I know it is easy for me to look past myself and see others - Christ followers, leaders, friends, strangers, and even unbelievers - and wonder why they choose to be so angry, so hateful, so wicked, but God has a word for that, too.  I can't talk about the "speck of sawdust" in someone else's eye and pay no attention to the "plank in my own eye."  Like I said, Jesus was talking to me in this passage; Jesus was commanding me to live and to love differently than the world.  It begins with me!

Father, thank You for loving me.  Thank You for rescuing and redeeming me.  Father, forgive me.  I am a sinner, and I need Your power in my life.  Thank You for baptizing me with the Holy Spirit, for empowering and enabling me to live for You and to live like Jesus.  Thank You for my salvation and for my sanctification.  I am relying on Your grace and Your love so that I can be a vessel of that same grace and love to anyone and to everyone I come in contact with today, including my enemies.  Help me today, Father, to LOVE, DO GOOD, BLESS, and PRAY the way Jesus commanded me in Luke 6.  And may my life be a glory and an honor to You in every way.  Amen.