Luke 6:27-36

“But love your enemies, do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return. Your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High; for he is kind to the ungrateful and the wicked.” vs. 38

For those not familiar with the teachings of Jesus these words are shocking. And even many believers are surprised at his description of God. They have assumed that God wreaks vengeance on the ungrateful and the wicked, and to see that Jesus actually said that God is kind and merciful to them is a bit of a jolt. Some might even be a bit disappointed–they like the notion of a judgmental and unforgiving God. And when Jesus told his disciples that they should be merciful as God is merciful some might have wondered if they could actually do that. It is true that Jesus’ words here are challenging and difficult. We just don’t see them modeled in our culture or society. Instead we are taught that it’s just fine to attack our enemies and slander their names. And we certainly don’t see many folks out in the world who don’t expect anything in return for their generosity. In fact almost all benevolence is regularly considered to be self-serving–at the very least we’ve grown to expect a sizable deduction on our income tax returns. Now Jesus does assure those who live in his way that there will be blessings on the journey, but he’s not talking about financial gain. The reward he has in mind is far better than that!

Thought for the Day: How can I love people that I can’t stand?