Luke 6:27-28 AMP
[27] “But I say to you who hear [Me and pay attention to My words]: Love [that is, unselfishly seek the best or higher good for] your enemies, [make it a practice to] do good to those who hate you, [28] bless and show kindness to those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you.
There is a message for the general populace and there is a message for disciples. The expectation from the general populace is always lower than that from disciples. The reason is that the disciple has made a public affirmation of a change in ownership, focus and allegiance. The disciple has made it very clear to everyone that s/he now lives by higher and nobler standards than the world can ever aspire to. This is why the expectation of the world - unbelievers- from those who call themselves Christians is usually high. You hear comments like: "And you call yourself a Christian". The world seems to have a good idea of the standard expected from a believer even though it has no intention of following the standard. It is therefore expected that those who claim to know the standard are ready and willing to align with the standard. It has to be noted that this is the standard laid down by God, not man.
If I will indeed hear and pay attention, the verse above speaks to me. It is not enough to come every week to the house of God to hear the sermons; I have to be invested in obeying and putting the word of God to practice. There are people everywhere who hear the word of God; there are several opportunities around us to have encounters with the written and spoken word of God, but the challenge is always with the practical aspects of God's word. It is easy to love people who are close to us, and who are also invested in our good, but the challenge is when these are people who seem to consistently seek evil for us, and have even made their evil intentions clear to us. How do you love an enemy, especially the one who leaves you in no doubt as to his evil intentions? This is where you will know that your life can only produce love by the help of the One who is the personification of love Himself. You cannot fake it.
The verses above even go further to say I am to make it a practice to do good to those who hate me, bless and show kindness to those who curse me, and also pray for those who mistreat me. These can only proceed from a heart that has been touched by God. There is nothing human or natural about these reactions, and that is why the extract starts with the clear focus on those who choose to hear and pay attention. You can only produce fruit in line with your seed. If the human nature is in charge, there is no way to produce or sustain the fruit that has been laid out in the verses above. If I am not seeing the right kind of fruit, then I need to go back and check my seed and source. God's help and Spirit are available to all who will surrender their hearts to God. He wants to touch the world with lives that He has impacted. Would you let Him work in and through you? God's time of favour is here.
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