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Luke 6:27-31
This passage of Scripture interprets itself. Read it and then think about it. Read it again and think about it some more. Read it a third time and think about how important it is to put our trust in Jesus in following His commands. Read it again and think about following it with Jesus at your side every step of the way.
This is a command to show the love of Jesus to everyone.
This is a command to let the love of Jesus flow through us.
This is a command to turn from the ways of the sinful nature and live in the new life in Jesus.
This is proof of the promise that we must let Jesus have control of our lives and submit to His will for our lives. We cannot follow these commands if we do not put Jesus first in our lives.
1 John 4:7-11 (NKJV) states, “Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. He who does not love does not know God, for God is love. In this the love of God was manifested toward us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him. In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.”
In this passage (Luke 6:27-31) our focus goes to letting others do bad things to us while we do nothing in return except allow them to do so. This goes against our innermost being and thought process. Thoughts of “How dare you,” and “I promise that I will get you back for doing that to me” ring through our minds as our blood pressure may be rising.
I direct your attention to Luke 6:31, which is the part of this passage that we always seem to miss, and it makes it all possible; “And just as you want men to do to you, you also do to them likewise.” We are so blind to the obvious because of our focus on the unwanted! If we would all strive to show the love spoken of in 1 John 4:7-11, there would be no need for the prideful and arrogant feelings spoken of above.
If you believe that the sinful nature does not lash out at your soul each day, I challenge you to check yourself the next time someone says something bad or false of you. Will your feelings, words, and actions show the love of Jesus? We must strive every moment of every day to keep our focus on Jesus, and the light of Christ will shine through us. The Apostle Paul states in Galatians 5:22-26, “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law. And those who are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another.”
Dear Lord,
It is hard for us to allow others to mistreat us or speak badly of us. Please help us to put our faith in Jesus every day and strive to follow His teachings that You would be glorified through our lives. Please help us to set the example of treating everyone with love and the fruit of the Spirit that indwells us through salvation in Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior. In Jesus name I pray, amen.