Daily Devotion, July 2, 2022

 

Devotion:

Read Luke 6:27-36.

I believe it is the highest and most difficult of Jesus’ teaching. He sets the bar very high on where we are headed as our relationship with him grows and deepens. This is one of many times in the Bible when our relationship with God is connected to our relationship with other people. As our relationship with our Lord goes to ever deeper levels, we take on more and more of the characteristics and ways of God. Here in “The Gospel According To Luke” Jesus reminds us that most everybody loves those who love them; most everybody is kind to those who are kind to them. But as the people of Christ, we are to go beyond the ways of the world.

When we pledge allegiance to Jesus Christ, we are making a commitment to learn and follow his way, no matter how difficult that may be at times. Loving enemies is certainly not something we are taught in this world. The way of the world is to at a minimum stay away from enemies and on the other extreme to try to destroy them. To love enemies is seen as a sign of weakness by most people in this world. It takes much courage and commitment to Christ to learn and follow this teaching.

 

But as the people of Christ, we have pledged to learn and live this way of love. Why? Because Christ first loved us and showed us this way with his own life.

Personal Worship Option:

To love an enemy means to seek for good things to happen to them. What good thing is God guiding you to do for any enemy?