The Twelve Apostles
12 In these days he went out to the mountain to pray, and all night he continued inJesus Ministers to a Great Multitude
17 And he came down with them and stood on a level place, with a great crowd of his disciples and a great multitude of people from all Judea and Jerusalem and the seacoast of Tyre and Sidon, 18 who came to hear him and to be healed of their diseases. And those who were troubled with unclean spirits were cured. 19 And all the crowd sought to touch him, for power came out from him and healed them all.The Beatitudes
20 And he lifted up his eyes on his disciples, and said:“Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God.
21 “Blessed are you who are hungry now, for you shall be satisfied.
“Blessed are you who weep now, for you shall laugh.
22 “Blessed are you when people hate you and when they exclude you and revile you and spurn your name as evil, on account of the Son of Man! 23 Rejoice in that day, and leap for joy, for behold, your reward is great in heaven; for so their fathers did to the prophets.
Jesus Pronounces Woes
24 “But woe to you who are rich, for you have received your consolation.25 “Woe to you who are full now, for you shall be hungry.
“Woe to you who laugh now, for you shall mourn and weep.
26 “Woe to you, when all people speak well of you, for so their fathers did to the false prophets.
Love Your Enemies
27 “But I say to you who hear, Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, 28 bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you. 29 To one who strikes you on the cheek, offer the other also, and from one who takes away your cloak do not withhold your tunic[b] either. 30 Give to everyone who begs from you, and from one who takes away your goods do not demand them back. 31 And as you wish that others would do to you, do so to them.32 “If you love those who love you, what benefit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. 33 And if you do good to those who do good to you, what benefit is that to you? For even sinners do the same. 34 And if you lend to those from whom you expect to receive, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, to get 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 is kind to the ungrateful and the evil. 36 Be merciful, even as your Father is merciful.
Luke 6:27-28
ReplyDeleteThe verse above may seem extremely repetitive to some of us. It doesn't surprise us in any way, because we've heard it said so often. In actuality, it is one of the most surprising and startling statements, because really, who lives like that? It goes against logic. I mean, it sounds nice and all, it makes you think that if everyone actually followed this, the world would be a better place. But yeah, we know THAT'S never gonna happen.
But... what if I don't have any enemies? I think I'm a pretty mellow person in general. I don't go looking for attention or trouble, and I can't really think of a person that I despise. Really, I can't. I'm sure a lot of people feel the same. So how come the Bible makes it so imperative that we love our enemies?
Because loving our enemies can essentially translate to LOVE ALL. Everyone. Love all the way. Not just those who love us back.
How am I supposed to love someone who hates me? Think about this. We all have our tough times in life - fight with parents, fight with siblings, fight with friends, anger, sadness, stress. Hate, hate, hate. When I think back about those times, I really felt like I hated the world, including myself. Did Jesus still love me then? The answer is yes. He loves us no matter what, even in our darkest times.
(Saturday, October 29, 2011)
Our God is the God of Love. His Word is a love story. He gives us love so we can give it to others.
Delete"And now these three remain: faith, hope, and love. But the greatest of these is love." (1 Corinthians 13:13)
And love is an ACTION!
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