June 23, 2023
“Why do you call me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and not do the things which I say?” —Luke 6:46
In the 45 verses preceding these words, Jesus tells us to love our enemies, do good and speak blessings to those who hurt and curse you. One of life’s hardest lessons is learning to see everything—even the bad things—as a gift from God designed to make us more like Christ, who is the express image of God himself.
Sin has so distorted that image that restoring it only comes through much difficulties and trials. When people mistreat us, the natural response is defensiveness at the least, and retaliation at the most. We want to strike back, to even the playing field, to protect ourselves. But God is the Great Sacrificer, the Great Giver, the Great Blesser, if you will, and none of his gracious gifts to us has come without great cost to himself. If it costs him, it will cost us, too.
No comments:
Post a Comment