"For if ye love them which love you, what thank have ye? for sinners also love those that love them.
And if ye do good to them which do good to you, what thank have ye? for sinners also so even the same.
And if ye lend to them of whom ye hope to receive, what thank have ye? for sinners also lend to sinners, to receive as much again.
But love ye your enemies, and do good, and lend, hoping for nothing again; and your reward shall be great, and ye shall be the children of the Highest: for he is kind to the unthankful and to the evil.
Be ye therefore merciful, as your Father also is merciful.
Judge not, and ye shall not be judged: condemn not, and ye shall not be condemned: forgive, and ye shall be forgiven:
Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured unto you again."
Luke 6:32-38
These are some important verses. I think that we forget sometimes that God asks us to do the hard stuff. We go along throughout our days, loving the people who love us, and being awesome to the people we think are awesome, and we kind of block out those "other" people. But, here, the other people are the point.
In these verses, God asks us to love the people who don't love us. To do good to those who are not good to us. To lend/give even when we know whatever we offer is never coming back. That's a tall order... but how amazingly worth it.
The second part of this group of verses also contains commandments, but they are hooked up inseparably with promises. If we are good to other people... if we don't judge them, if we don't condemn them, if we forgive them, if we are generous to them... then God promises to be good to us. He won't judge us or condemn us. He will forgive us. He will give us so much that we won't be able to hold it all. ... God says specifically here that the same measure that we mete to others will be measured to us again.
In looking at how we treat the "others" in our lives, is that what we want for ourselves? Are we willing to accept that same treatment from God? Today, let's treat others in exactly the way that we want God to treat us. ... Because that is the deal we're offered. Let's make sure we turn it into an awesome thing rather than a tragedy.
And if ye do good to them which do good to you, what thank have ye? for sinners also so even the same.
And if ye lend to them of whom ye hope to receive, what thank have ye? for sinners also lend to sinners, to receive as much again.
But love ye your enemies, and do good, and lend, hoping for nothing again; and your reward shall be great, and ye shall be the children of the Highest: for he is kind to the unthankful and to the evil.
Be ye therefore merciful, as your Father also is merciful.
Judge not, and ye shall not be judged: condemn not, and ye shall not be condemned: forgive, and ye shall be forgiven:
Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured unto you again."
Luke 6:32-38
These are some important verses. I think that we forget sometimes that God asks us to do the hard stuff. We go along throughout our days, loving the people who love us, and being awesome to the people we think are awesome, and we kind of block out those "other" people. But, here, the other people are the point.
In these verses, God asks us to love the people who don't love us. To do good to those who are not good to us. To lend/give even when we know whatever we offer is never coming back. That's a tall order... but how amazingly worth it.
The second part of this group of verses also contains commandments, but they are hooked up inseparably with promises. If we are good to other people... if we don't judge them, if we don't condemn them, if we forgive them, if we are generous to them... then God promises to be good to us. He won't judge us or condemn us. He will forgive us. He will give us so much that we won't be able to hold it all. ... God says specifically here that the same measure that we mete to others will be measured to us again.
In looking at how we treat the "others" in our lives, is that what we want for ourselves? Are we willing to accept that same treatment from God? Today, let's treat others in exactly the way that we want God to treat us. ... Because that is the deal we're offered. Let's make sure we turn it into an awesome thing rather than a tragedy.
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