Life Minded – Part Two
August 18, 2024
These scriptures are the most counterintuitive passages in the bible. Nothing inside of us wants to immediately obey them.
Luke 6:27-36 NIV
"But I tell you who hear me: Love your enemies; do good to those who hate you, 28 bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. 29 If someone strikes you on one cheek, turn to him the other also. If someone takes your cloak, do not stop him from taking your tunic. 30 Give to everyone who asks you, and if anyone takes what belongs to you, do not demand it back. 31 Do to others as you would have them do to you.
32 "If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even 'sinners' love those who love them. 33 And if you do good to those who are good to you, what credit is that to you? Even 'sinners' do that. 34 And if you lend to those from whom you expect repayment, what credit is that to you? Even 'sinners' lend to 'sinners,' expecting to be repaid in full. 35 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 sons of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked. 36 Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.
Jesus moves from “Treat others the way you want to be treated” to “Treat others the way your Father treats you and them.”
The kingdom that Jesus preached and lived was about a life of glorious, uproarious, absurd generosity.
It was about doing the best thing possible for the worst person possible.
Imagine a city where hundreds of thousands of people lived like this. There would be no violence; no revenge killings, no theft and people would be more concerned about their neighbor than their own well-being.
Love your enemies. (Internal)
Love – agape – to love in a social or moral sense
Do good to those who hate you. (Physical)
“Look for ways to do something good for people who hate you.” This phrase moves the teachings of Jesus from our hearts to our hands and feet.
Proverbs 25:21-22 NIV
“If your enemy is hungry, give him food to eat; if he is thirsty, give him water to drink. 22 In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head, and the Lord will reward you.”
1. Love your friends and hate your enemies.
2. Crazy cycle of vengeful acts.
Bless those who curse you. (Verbal)
They curse, we bless.
Proverbs 18:21 NIV
“The tongue has the power of life and death, and those who love it will eat its fruit.”
Pray for those who mistreat you. (Spiritual)
“Father in heaven, may the work of the Holy Spirit continue in me and may the works of my flesh come to nothing. Father, may the work of the Holy Spirit continue in them. May your blessings overtake them and your favor be poured out on them.”
Psalm 103:8-13 NIV
“The Lord is compassionate and gracious; slow to anger, abounding in love. 9 He will not always accuse, nor will he harbor his anger forever; 10 he does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities. 11 For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his love for those who fear him; 12 as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us. 13 As a father has compassion on his children, so the Lord has compassion on those who fear him.”
This was the God Jesus knew. This was the father he was modeling and representing to the rest of us.
