Luke 6:27-36 -Love your Enemies
27"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. 29If 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. 30Give to everyone who asks you, and if anyone takes what belongs to you, do not demand it back. 31Do 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. 33And if you do good to those who are good to you, what credit is that to you? Even 'sinners' do that. 34And 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. 35But 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. 36Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.
These verses really just stopped me today. I've been dealing with how my attitude should be toward a person that just has blatent disregard for my feelings or anyone else's really. I had to spend a lot of time with this person this past week and it just slapped me in the face how I thought that this person was my friend, when really that has obviously NEVER been the case. I don't want to be a doormat. But I do want to be meek and loving. And to be honest, I have not reacted that way (at least in my mind and talking to others I haven't.) I realize there is a time for anger, and I feel like my anger was just. I mean, I wasn't the only one that was being affected, or afflicted, by this person. But now, that time has passed. I want to be different. I want to actually serve MY Lord. I want His opinion to be the most important and I want to please Him with my actions and reactions. I realize that even some of my close Christian friends/family would tell me to write the relationship off, that it's not worth my time and it's just going to bring me heartache and drama. (I hate that kind of drama, you know.) But I really think that I should just step it up. Not seek approval from this person for my own benefit, which is what I think the other people in their life are doing, but to actually invest in them because Jesus loves them and commands me to. Just like it says above, even sinners love their own friends, so what kinds of witness is that? I mean, that's not really challenging. Loving your enemies takes His grace and His love in our hearts. I realize as I write this that it is going to be really hard for me to step out of my comfort zone. I don't really want to ever talk to this person again. And I might have to say some things that will definitely not make me a popular person in their eyes, and I will probably get talked about behind my back, and be made to look like a hypocrite. Or I might just have to be there for this person and just shower them with love in the name of Christ.
Wow, this is difficult. I really need your prayers to do the right thing. I know myself. And I'll talk about this and then I'll just "do nothing." Just let it blow right past me and then no harm will come, but no good will either. Opinions on this would be appreciated. Thanks for listening (reading :)
3 comments:
Why do we look for validation in all the wrong places? I'm not saying that's true of you, but I know it's true of me sometimes, and it frustrates me. I don't know, maybe you do too. I think we all do it to some extent.
It's like we crave that warm and fuzzy feeling we get from the acceptance of someone or a "job well done". Maybe we should enjoy that feeling, maybe not.
I have learned time and time again that the only true faith that we can have is in God and His Word. When we take our eyes off that and place it on man, they will fail us every time. That's a hard pill to swallow. Even our spouse and family members will fail us. I guess that's where unconditional love comes in. That doesn't mean that we stop loving and caring, but it does mean that we have to be assured where our faith is found. I say this more to me than you, because I can take away a lot from this story, just like my past.
Anyways, enough rambling. Long story short, that sucks. I've been there. But God will NEVER leave us or forsake us, and we can find hope in that.
HEY!!! You commented! Weird, I was already on here looking for new blogs to read, and I was re-reading mine and BAM, there's a comment.
I agree with you. I think that our behavior is on a secular scale, rather than a biblical one, and it's hard for people to tell the difference anymore. That really makes me feel convicted about some of my actions.
By the way, I think there's still stuff in the break room of yours. Like cutting board, knife, vitamins, etc?? Is that yours?
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