In Luke 6: 29, Jesus says something extraordinary. He says, if someone slaps you on the check, you are to turn to them and offer the other check. If someone takes your coat, do not withhold your shirt as well. And if anyone takes away something that belongs to you, do not demand it back.
Clearly Jesus is calling his followers to act in some unusual ways. He calls us to love our enemies, to do good to those who hate you, to bless those who curse you, and to pray for those who mistreat you. Jesus instructs us to do what is contrary to our nature, or at least our own inclinations.
As his followers, we are not to focus on our own needs. We are to love our enemies, do good to those who hate us and bless those who curse us. Why? Because God sees what you are doing
“and your reward will be great
and you will be children of the Most high,
because the Lord is kind to the ungrateful and wicked.
Be merciful, just as your Father [in heaven] is merciful.” (vv. 35-36)
We don’t normally live this way–giving, lending, loving, But Jesus invites us to act in this way. HIS WAY. He calls us to take up a lifestyle that stands apart from what everyone else is inclined to do.
This reminds me of a short poem written by Ella Wilcox:
There are two kinds of people on earth today,
Just two kinds of people, no more, I say.
Not the good and the bad, for ‘tis well understood
That the good are half-bad and the bad half-good
No! the two kinds of people on earth I mean
Are the people who lift and the people who lean.
God’s word teaches that we are either a contributor to society or a consumer. We are either a taker or a giver. You and I are either as a person who lifts or a person who leans. So, which is it going to be?
God says the moment that you and I begin to make extravagant generosity our way of life in the world, then God begins to do some truly amazing things.
Grace and peace,
Pastor Steve