Luke 6:28 TPT
[28] When someone curses you, bless that person in return. When others mistreat and harass you, accept it as your mission to pray for them.
As always, the audience defines the demand. You cannot cast your pearls before swine and expect them to treat them right. You cannot demand righteousness from someone who is not subject to the authority and control of the Righteous God. These two extremes are under the control and influence of two very different authorities. Neither will permit digression, disagreement or dissent. There is also no middle ground where you can sit or stand in and claim independence or even impartiality. Not in this case. This is not one of those things that education, enlightenment or earnings can help solve, or which you can depend on what you have to get you out of the consequences of your choice, whichever one it is. Where do you stand? Who are you? What are the things that motivate or inspire you to do whatever it is that you do? How do you define your pursuits and priorities, and who is that one person who can check you and bring you to order on a daily basis if need be? Do I have one?
The verse above is repeated as part of the Sermon on the Mount, where Jesus taught his disciples but there was a crowd following Him everywhere He went, listening to Him and reacting as they thought best at the time. In that crowd were entitled Jews who felt that they knew Jesus so well that He had no power or authority to be speaking the way He was. There were also the 'leaders' of the time who felt threatened by His authority, and constantly challenged Him, and at a point, were looking for ways to put Him to death. Of course, there were also strangers; people who just wanted to hear the truth, and who would go on to become disciples. He also had made 12 men part of His inner circle of disciples, and it was to them that the words above are addressed. The demand on you will always be defined by the circle you belong to. Can one who does not yet know anything about God's blessings pass anything of value to someone else? How can you give what you do not yet have?
When the squeeze comes, and it definitely will at some point in time in our lives, I will only produce in line with what I have inside of me. Let men curse because that is what is in them and must flow out, but as I have the Blessed One living in me, my life must produce in line with that reality. When others mistreat and harass you, it is an outward reflection of their inner state. Rather than react in the same light, you flow out with the Light and Life of Christ in you, the hope of glory. You are fixed on that which is eternal, not that which is earthly. Even when I do not understand the reason for the hatred and opposition, rather than complain, the verse above enjoins me to make it my mission to pray for them. A mission is not tied to the target's point of view but to the motivation and inspiration of the one on the mission. I keep my eye on the goal and press on toward the prize. I want God to be glorified in and through me. I want God to be celebrated in and through me. What of you? God's time of favour is here.
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