“If you love those
who love you, what benefit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love
them. If you do good to those who do good to you, what benefit is that to you?
For even sinners do the same. If you lend to those from whom you expect to
receive, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, to get back
the same amount. But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing
in return, and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most
High, for he is kind to the ungrateful and the evil. Be merciful, even as your
Father is merciful” (Luke 6:32-36).
This is another clear illustration of the
Master’s continuing exhortation to His followers to step away from the crowd
and closer to Him, to become His true disciples. Knowing how difficult this
fresh definition of love was, Jesus continued to explain the differences
between the world’s love and God’s love. Having already taught that God’s love
was intended for everyone, especially those who would oppose the disciples as
enemies of Christ, Jesus next proposed that there are special heart shaping, life-changing
evidences and results of God’s love. Today, we learn that the Holy Spirit inspired
Luke to record this teaching of our Lord to reveal to earnest disciples the transforming
power of God’s love.
God’s higher love rewards His servants.
As we mature as His disciples, our selfish hearts are transformed as His priorities
replace ours. We learn to love others because we’ve experienced His love… “We
love because he first loved us” (1 John 4:19). Our desire to show His
love to others grows… “No one has ever seen God; if we love one another,
God abides in us and his love is perfected in us” (1 John 4:12). Our
joy and fulfillment comes from leading others to Christ… “For the love of
Christ controls us, because we have concluded this: that one has died for all,
therefore all have died” (2 Corinthians 5:14). Jesus promises that
disciples controlled by His love will win many souls and “your reward
will be great”. The Spirit affirms this promise through the words of
Daniel… “Those who are wise shall shine like the brightness of the sky
above; and those who turn many to righteousness, like the stars forever and
ever” (Daniel 12:3). Loving God’s enemies into the kingdom produces
eternal rewards!
God’s higher love reflects our new
birth. True disciples of Jesus Christ have been changed. We are born again… “Blessed
be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy,
he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of
Jesus Christ from the dead” (1 Peter 1:3). We are no longer slaves to
sin like the rest of the world… “But thanks be to God, that you who were
once slaves of sin… having been set free from sin, have become slaves of
righteousness” (Romans 6:17-18). When we share God’s love with sinners
we are showing them that we have become “sons of the Most High”. When
we share God’s love with sinners we are imitating the one who loved us into His
kingdom… “God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners,
Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8). Loving God’s enemies empowers us to
offer them the new birth!
God’s higher love reveals His mercy. How
do the enemies of God become the friends of God? Jesus gave an illustration to
teach that it is through seeking and receiving God’s mercy that sinners are
justified… “The tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up
his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner!’
I tell you, this man went down to his house justified” (Luke 18:13-14).
We believe we were transformed from enemies to friends of God through His mercy…
“He saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but
according to his own mercy” (Titus 3:5). Evidence that we are real
disciples, growing in the faith and becoming more like Christ is a Holy Spirit
imparted ability to see and love enemies like Jesus did. We are convicted and exhorted
by the love and mercy reflected in His prayer for those enemies that crucified
Him… “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do” (Luke
23:34). Loving God’s enemies releases the power of His mercy to save their
souls!
As we grow up into Christ we become
more effective soul winners as we learn to share…
The Transforming Power of God’s Love.
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