Children of God?

 “But to you who are listening I say: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. If someone slaps you on one cheek, turn to them the other also. If someone takes your coat, do not withhold your shirt from them. Give to everyone who asks you, and if anyone takes what belongs to you, do not demand it back. Do to others as you would have them do to you.

 “If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners love those who love them. And if you do good to those who are good to you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners do that. And if you lend to those from whom you expect repayment, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, expecting to be repaid in full. But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked. Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.” Luke 6:27-36, NIV

It sounds like Jesus is saying that  our reward is in proportion to how we come to imitate the nature of God!  No, this is not about earning our salvation, but our reward/recognition in the presence of God. If there is competition in the body of Christ, that’s where we need to compete—-how we treat mean people!

So—-are you listening? That’s what Jesus would say if he were standing here instead of me. So often, we just “hear” but don’t “listen”.   When the Son of God—-the co-creator of the universe tells us to do something—-what do you think? Should we ponder is His counsel is accurate and measure it against what Oprah says, or what Tucker Carlson or Don Lemon postulate? My sons and I are now reading the Bible each night after supper—it’s their choice to do this! And I remind them that the words within that book is holy….inspired….living….dependable and exceeds the consummate wisdom of all mankind!

So here’s what Jesus is telling us to do: love your enemies—-do good to those that hate you—-bless that curse you——pray for those who mistreat you!!!!  Do we? Are we following HIS BLUEPRINT FOR BEING CHILDREN OF GOD!

And let me be clear about this: God never says that we should not have enemies.  We should! But not because we’re looking for ways to offend people or we plan for others to hate us. No, we should have enemies—-just as God has enemies—-just as His Son had enemies—-just as the prophets and apostles had enemies because we are sons and daughters of God.  Someone one said:  “Do You Have Enemies? Good. That Means You’ve Stood Up For Something.”   Let me add that a  man who has no enemies, is not really a man and  rarely good for anything.  It’s not a matter of avoiding enemies—-it’s a matter of how we treat the people who will inevitably hate us because of what we believe and how we live!!!

But in loving those that hate us and being kind to those that abuse, Jesus said it’s “credit” to us.  That does not mean that we’re earning salvation from hell or that we’re paying off a debt we owe to God, but rather, it is something that we can take credit for!  That is, we can see that it was our choice—-not something God compelled or controlled us, as if were puppets or  a voodoo doll. We chose kindness over revenge, compassion over justice, mercy over our enemies.  And what’s the benefit of claiming that credit???   That which happens in your heart!!!

When you and I start forgiving, from the heart, blessing those that curse us and loving those the hate us our “credit” is the transfer of our hearts from being wrapped up in narcisstic self love, and the need the need to get even, and the notion that if we don’t defend our rights no one else will, into a creature that has returned to very nature of our Creator. We are taking on the the habit and life style of Jesus Christ!   And we don’t do it for the blessings that follow—-we do it with a humble trust that  WILL please our Father and an assurance that we will, by far, be more joyful in heart by following Jesus, and not the impulses of the  flesh.

Jesus talks about a subject that is taboo in most churches—-money.  And what he says goes contrary to that the Jews of His time, and even Jews and Christians today consider! He said to lend money to folks that won’t pay back! “… lend to (your enemies)  without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked. Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.”

Now, a moment of reflection on this. Jesus began this discourse by saying, “those who are listening….”   And that’s the question. Are we listening. And if we are, it’s my opinion that a lot of pastors, priests, Christian leaders and other believers, who should know better, either were not listening or have forgotten what Jesus said!

I served in two churches, both times as a youth pastor—once while in college and the second time while in graduate school.  In both cases the head pastors were simply not kind, forgiving, generous or anything like I imagined Jesus to be. Both of them did more to form my ministry by illustrating and living what I did not want to become!  That might sound mean, and to be honest, I struggled for years to forgive them of their arrogance and just plain meanness to the youth I served and to me directly.

And this is why camp directors, pastors, priests and Christian leaders need godly elders, boards and close friends, who are in love with God, to remind them of what Jesus said and did!

A renowned American biologist James D. Watson once quoted: “The brain is the last and grandest biological frontier, the most complex thing we have yet discovered in our universe. It contains hundreds of billions of cells interlinked through trillions of connections. The brain boggles the mind.” 

But here’s what I want to point out. It’s been proven that all of us, regardless of how many billions of brain cells we use, or how  smart we think we are, we can only remember:

10 percent of what we READ 

20 percent of what we HEAR 

30 percent of what we SEE 

50 percent of what we SEE and HEAR 

70 percent of what we SAY and WRITE 

….but 90 percent of we we DO.

Think about it!

Jesus said that, ““Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock.”  You’ve got to do it—-not just talk about it or read it!

Now God knows that our minds, incredible as they are, are apt to forget or confuse.  So listen to what He said, about His commands, 4000 years ago: “These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts.  Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads.  Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates.”  Deuteronomy 6:6-9, NIV

And…..we need to be reminded about the essential things—a lot!  THAT’S why we have church services, Bible studies, retreats and even summer camps!  This why we are told to study His Word and HIDE HIS WORDS IN OUR HEARTS!

Let this echo in your mind this week!  If you are a believer in Jesus Christ and you have been born again and His Spirit lives within you, you must still make that conscious decision to submit to Him and obey Him. The children of the King of Kings are not robots—-they exercise free will and have a knowledge of good and evil—-just like the children of satanic.  But children of God are able to submit to the Holy Spirit and allow Him to leave us into be imitators of Jesus Christ when it comes to how we treat hateful people.   

The question to you is simple: Will be children of the Most High?  If so, remember what He said: God is kind to the ungrateful and wicked. Therefor be merciful to the mean and spiteful people He allows into your life, , just as your Father is merciful.

The GOAL is not to earn the respect or admiration of mankind—-or even fellow believers. The GOAL is to do others what God has done for you and we follow the example of Jesus!

And one final remark:  There is evil all around us—and there will be a reckoning one day. We see and hear more and more evil each week as the day approaches. I am not saying that we should not hate sin, or that we should not want justice.  But as far as us seeking our own justice, we must choose to trust God, release our anger and allow Him to work things out—-and He will! Paul said this: “Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,” says the Lord. Romans 12:19, NIV