“But I say unto you which hear, Love your
enemies, do good to them which hate you…Bless them that curse you, and pray for
them which despitefully use you.” Luke 6:27 - 28
We
have been working our way through some of the book of Luke on Wednesdays
nights. This week we opened these glorious verses. I personally believe the
greatest thing a saved sinner has is God’s love in their heart. I believe that
everything with God began with love. It was because of love that He chose to
save a sinner like me, and to adopt me as His own son. God said in 1 John 4:7 -
8 “Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that
loveth is born of God, and knoweth God…He that loveth not knoweth not God; for
God is love.” How can one say they are saved if they do not love God’s
children? As believers and recipients of God’s love through Jesus Christ and
the gifting of the Holy Spirit, how can we not love? What were we before God saved
us and gave us His love? But now, that we have received God’s love then we need
to live our life in that love. God tells us how to do that right there in Luke
6, it starts with “Love your enemies”, and continues with “do good to them
which hate you”, and “Bless them that curse you”, and “pray for them which
despitefully use you”, and “turning the cheek that is slapped” and etc. Folks
that is a lot, I do not know about you, but for me that takes a lot of work on
my part. But, to truly do it will show you how God loves you. Remember you were
at enmity with God before you were saved. You know, as I studied this and
remembered my everyday life I realized I was not living to God’s standard’s for
me, I have failed in this love area. If we look closely at these scriptures we
will see just how much God expects from us, and how short we fall. I have this
week tried to have more love for my fellow human being and have discovered it
feels good to be nice to them that are lost. It felt good living more like God
told us too. People do not need to be Christians for me to love them because
God told me they do not. But, I must admit them being a Christian make the love
I have for them even more special. I have to admit it has been a hard week
trying to live these scriptures closer and closer, especially driving on the
roads. But, we must remember that all things are possible through Jesus Christ
our Lord and Saviour. Luke 18:27 “And he
said, The things which are impossible with men are possible with God.”
That’s right God can do anything, even with you. I ask you this week to lean on
these scriptures, study them and work to do them, and if you slip don’t give-up
ask the Lord to increase His grace to help you. Help someone in need, bless
them that are angry with you, smile and greet those that despise you, and the
feeling will be great. Paul said to the church at Rome of love, “Love worketh
no ill to his neighbour: therefore love is the fulfilling of the law.” Romans
13:10 how could it work ill if it is fulfilling God’s law? John wrote in 1 John
4:12 “No man hath seen God at any time. If we love one another, God dwelleth in
us, and his love is perfected in us.” God’s love is complete in us when we as
believers learn to properly love one another. It takes work, it takes prayer,
it takes God’s power, but with all that complete, it perfects God’s glorious
love that the Holy Spirit delivered to us as a “fruit”. Galatians 5:22 “But the
fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness,
goodness, faith,” Beloved, be kind to one another, but don’t stop there
continue the kindness to those who are lost, and God will reward you for it,
but it in itself will be rewarding.
