I’m struggling today. Not for any particular reason other than a slow start. Some days are like that, I guess.
Today, we have four verses of scripture in the passage. I’ll post this in a moment. These are fantastic and challenging red letters, the words of Jesus. Yes, all the words of Jesus are great, but sometimes they hit you differently. That’s the maturing process, I guess. Or, it could be life stepping in coupled with the Holy Spirit.
32“If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them.
33“If you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners do the same.
34“If you lend to those from whom you expect to receive, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners in order to receive back the same amount.
35“But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return; and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High; for He Himself is kind to ungrateful and evil men.
Luke 6:32–35 (NASB95)
As I re-read these words, they are also very hard to take in. This challenges us to step into the gap and love, serve, and minister to those people we don’t like. It says that if we help people we like, that’s not really the point. “…what credit is that to you?” Helping only the people we like isn’t putting a tally in the book? It doesn’t work that way, getting gold stars in Heaven for what we do down here on earth. That’s a works-based theology, and Jesus isn’t about that. Jesus’ words seem to indicate that.
Jesus isn’t telling us something contradictory or that we are building up a register of pluses and minuses in Heaven to be balanced out on judgment day. Jesus is putting this into terms earthly humans can understand. We think in terms of for and against, pluses and minuses, but that’s not the point. The point is this.
31“Treat others the same way you want them to treat you.
Luke 6:31 (NASB95)
That should sound familiar. It is because it is what closed out yesterday. We are to treat other people, all other people, as we want to be treated. Not just treat other people we like the way we want to be treated. All other people should be treated the way we want to be treated, including the people we do not like. Jesus is just putting it in terms humans see as good and bad. He is framing it like a parable to get His point across.
33“If you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners do the same.
Luke 6:33 (NASB95)
This is just being polite. If someone holds a door open for me, and there is a second door, I hold it open for them. I have no idea who they are, but they did something nice for me, so I’m returning the favor. This should come as no surprise to any of us but doing what is expected, i.e., being polite, isn’t the point. It is expected of us.
34“If you lend to those from whom you expect to receive, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners in order to receive back the same amount.
Luke 6:34 (NASB95)
This is just the human profit motive here. We like stuff. We like money. If we conduct business in a manner that makes that business a profit, how do we, as Christians, differentiate ourselves from the World? We are doing the same things they do. We are polite (most of the time), and so are they (again, most of the time.) We try to run our businesses, so they are solvent and profitable (most of the time) just like they do. Where are we differentiating ourselves from the World?
Why are we trying to be different? What do we have to gain by being different? Nothing. Gain isn’t the point of a Christian being different. What is?
14“You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden;
15nor does anyone light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house.
16“Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.
Matthew 5:14–16 (NASB95)
We are to let our light, the light of the Holy Spirit, lit in our hearts when we accepted Jesus as our Lord and Savior; we are to let that light shine into the darkness. The purpose of that light is to illuminate God’s path for the worldly people around us who are searching for a better way, a path out of their darkness. We are to be lighthouses in the storm, warning of the rocks and illuminating the safe way so that people do not wreck the ship and drown in the sea of their own desires.
Jesus’ point is that if we do the same things the worldly people do, we do not set ourselves apart. Yes, the world sees us as Christians, but they see us doing the same things the world is doing to get the same results. In their mind, why not do it the world’s way? We know it is because apart from God, none are saved. Only through Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior, is anyone saved. We have to demonstrate that we believe that so that the world looks on and wants to know why we believe that.
35“But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return; and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High; for He Himself is kind to ungrateful and evil men.
Luke 6:35 (NASB95)
This is how we do that. We show love, compassion, and generosity to those who are undeserving of it. That is earthly grace mimicking Heavenly grace. We give and do not expect it in return because God first gave to us and did not expect it in return. We are not compelled to love Him. We are invited to love Him. All are invited. We must reflect that invitation to even those we deem do not deserve it because we do not deserve it either. Mercy and grace are Jesus’ point, not justice and earning anything. The moment we internalize that is the moment our actions change, and I’m still struggling with that one.