Good Morning Friends,
Life is frequently unfair. Bad things happen to good people. Brutality and injustice are all around us. And we wonder why. Initially we submit to the reality that God’s purpose is beyond us, and God’s ways are above our ways. Still in seeking the Way of Jesus we are prompted to be more for the sake of the Kingdom of God, for God blesses all and the words of Jesus say such as much. So out of Jesus’ teaching we explore the perfect example of perfect love as the path for loving enemies, turning the other cheek, and discovering the blessing in being persecuted for the cause of Christ…even suffering. And in the melding of truth and love we gain courage to hopefully gain an answer to today’s question. So, How Do We Show Abundant Love To Even Our Enemies?
Scripture: We want you to know, brothers and sisters, about the grace of God that has been granted to the churches of Macedonia; for during a severe ordeal of affliction, their abundant joy and their extreme poverty have overflowed in a wealth of generosity on their part. For, as I can testify, they voluntarily gave according to their means, and even beyond their means, begging us earnestly for the privilege of sharing in this ministry to the saints— and this, not merely as we expected; they gave themselves first to the Lord and, by the will of God, to us, so that we might urge Titus that, as he had already made a beginning, so he should also complete this generous undertaking among you. Now as you excel in everything—in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in utmost eagerness, and in our love for you—so we want you to excel also in this generous undertaking. I do not say this as a command, but I am testing the genuineness of your love against the earnestness of others. For you know the generous act of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that by his poverty you might become rich.
2 Corinthians 8:1-9 (NRSV)
“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be children of your Father in heaven; for he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the righteous and on the unrighteous. For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet only your brothers and sisters, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.
Matthew 5:43-48 (NRSV)
who gave himself for our sins to set us free from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father,
Galatians 1:4 (NRSV)
Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not let them be afraid.
John 14:27 (NRSV)
Message: The world tells us that there are A list people we are to follow but the Bible has a host of characters that are B list, or even C list players in the drama and the amazing thing is that they are used in a powerful way by God for the purposes of God. Think of Phillip and Andrew and Stephen. They were not Peter or Paul, but they made an impact that is often missed. Sometimes there is an expected sequence of events that determine our future, but sometimes God responds to events with a plot twist where what we think of as bad or less desirable is used for good. We think of war as bad but sometimes war brings people to God. C.S. Lewis says such as much in the Screwtape Letters. We think of the Pandemic as terrible and it is, but maybe God will use it anyway for what is planned. And with Jesus counseling us with His peace and love I think we are to believe that we are not set on an unalterable course. Sure, we live in a troubled world. People are angry. Against this backdrop in culture and society, this scenario seems to have the makings for an unhealthy condition especially when we look at all the events that have transpired in the last year. But then, what good can come from out of Nazareth? And the answer is the very same plot twist I have been writing about. Friends, we are not to remain angry for long periods of time when bad thing happen. Think of Joseph and realize that maybe God is going to use what is happening for a greater purpose and even heal our lack of generosity and help us to be more joyous and courageous, sharing the truth with great love to all we meet. So here is the point. Generosity makes us healthier. We would be less angry if we gave more and if we loved more, we would be richer spiritually as well. If the model is Jesus, we have a lot more growing to do in our ability to give liberally. In fact, Jesus is telling us in today’s lectionary scripture that it is our duty as Christians to love those who do not love us. He means that we are to show practical kindness towards those who have no claim on our affections, who do not evoke any sense of delight in us, and who are seeking our harm. It is a radical thing that Jesus is calling us to. Now one of the questions that ought to be popping up into our minds right now is, “How can we do this? How can we possibly do this?” Typically, we love, either because we have been loved by the one, we are loving, or we love in hopes that our love will evoke a response of love from that person. Well, it starts with loving God who loved us first. But Jesus is talking about how we love those who do not love us and who do not even know us. So, our reward is either not going to come in that relationship or it may wait a long time until it comes. How do we love in that circumstance? How do we live rightly in a world filled with so much anger and fear of rejection? How do we love when somebody is not going to give back to us the love that we are giving? Scripture tells us that the only cure is to become more generous in our sharing the love and truth of Jesus. In today’s text from Corinthians, the Macedonian Christians are an example of how divine grace works its way out in a group who had suffered for their faith. First, they gave of themselves and then they gave money freely. We too can learn from how they gave and perhaps figure out that how they responded to the challenge of persecution was based on what Christ had done not so much what they were doing in response to the world around them.
And So, when we examine the fascinations of our life, what we give to financially, we suddenly discover what is important to us. We discover that not everyone has a generous heart and that few people are cheerful givers. We learn about greed and guilt, but hopefully also generosity and the abundance of life in Christ. Friends, few people love in a way that acknowledges that everything belongs to God. Few realize that there is no better investment than supporting the work of God’s people. Few people realize that when we love our enemies, we give in a way that hurts. There is a teaching moment here, for when we do not give liberally God may well show us that something is wrong with our hearts. But God might also show us that the love of Jesus on the Cross is enough. Friends, God has a plan for how we are to live, and it is shared with us in the Bible. And at the end of the day God wins and we do too if we stand with Jesus.
Pray we do not succumb to playing by the world’s rules instead of sticking with God’s plan. Pray
we realize that Christ’s example teaches grace and generosity. Pray we give because it is less self-serving and less fearful. Pray we give because it pays forward what we have received in grace from God. Pray we give because it proves the sincerity of our love for God. Pray we give because it paints a picture for others to see that is a witness for what Christ did for us when he gave everything. Pray we turn to God in the love of Christ who fulfilled the law and now give us a path with sure footing grounded in the grace of the King.
Pray that our identity is in the unity of a loving community. Pray we live in peace as we experience His love and share it. Pray we love God with all our heart, mind and soul and our neighbor as ourselves. Pray we live with confidence in the power of God’s love. Pray we realize that unrequited love has a lot of the qualities of Jesus on the cross. Pray we realize that when it comes to sharing God’s love there are to be no haves and have nots. Pray we listen to the loving Counselor and not lose hope for something great and beautiful and satisfying in our lives. Pray we give thanks. Pray we dwell on the positive. Pray we are obedient. Pray we choose God’s peace and purpose. Pray we ask for greater faith and help in loving others. Pray we get over our fear of rejection. Pray we build our hopes on God’s unchanging love. Pray we risk loving others. Pray we are genuine in our desire to emulate Jesus when it comes to loving people and giving our all for peace. Pray we trust in the promise.
Blessings,
John Lawson
Daily Devotionals 