Daily Devotion – February 15, 2022 – Dr. Pat Taylor Ellison
Luke 6:27-38
6:27 “But I say to you that listen, Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you,
6:28 bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you.
6:29 If anyone strikes you on the cheek, offer the other also; and from anyone who takes away your coat do not withhold even your shirt.
6:30 Give to everyone who begs from you; and if anyone takes away your goods, do not ask for them again.
6:31 Do to others as you would have them do to you.
6:32 “If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them.
6:33 If you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners do the same.
6:34 If you lend to those from whom you hope to receive, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, to receive as much again.
6:35 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.
6:36 Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.
6:37 “Do not judge, and you will not be judged; do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven;
6:38 give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap; for the measure you give will be the measure you get back.”
Why does Jesus preach this lesson? Why does he want his followers to do the hardest thing – loving their enemies and not withholding anything from them?
Perhaps because Jesus wants to always show the extreme generosity of God – the incredible abundance God promises to those who follow him. Perhaps because Jesus wants his followers to become a living, breathing example of the kingdom of God on earth. Perhaps because, when non-believers see these followers, they will be struck by God’s followers’ compassionate and generous behavior and want to live in community with them and want to act as they do.
Jesus is trying to establish a followership that doesn’t judge or condemn, that is generous and merciful to everyone, including both the good and the wicked.
What does this sermon say to us in the 21st century?
You can name in your own life an enemy…someone who has made your life difficult or uncomfortable. Whoever that is, Jesus says you are to give generously to that person, to do good and expect nothing in return. You are not to exact revenge or even hold that person in low regard. This is an incredibly difficult thing to do. Give the benefit of the doubt to someone who has taken from you, with no expectation of a return. Allow the other person to win the argument out of love for this enemy. If we can do this, we will show the world that our God comes first, our God comes before our need to be right.
This posture of love does not make us a doormat. In fact it makes us a slave who is serving another by knowing better than he/she does what is truly needed. Our behavior toward one another shows the watching world the kind of God we love. Our God is generous beyond measure, beyond our deserving.
Lord God, Thank you for loving us. Thank you for giving us this lesson about treating our enemies well. As the world watches us, people see what we value and know whom we worship. Help us to be as generous as you are. Amen.
