St. Luke 6: 27 – 38

July 2, 2022

27 But I say unto you which hear, Love your enemies, do good to them which hate you,

28 Bless them that curse you, and pray for them which despitefully use you.

29 And unto him that smiteth thee on the one cheek offer also the other; and him that taketh away thy cloke forbid not to take thy coat also.

30 Give to every man that asketh of thee; and of him that taketh away thy goods ask them not again.

31 And as ye would that men should do to you, do ye also to them likewise.

32 For if ye love them which love you, what thank have ye? for sinners also love those that love them.

33 And if ye do good to them which do good to you, what thank have ye? for sinners also do even the same.

34 And if ye lend to them of whom ye hope to receive, what thank have ye? for sinners also lend to sinners, to receive as much again.

35 But love ye your enemies, and do good, and lend, hoping for nothing again; and your reward shall be great, and ye shall be the children of the Highest: for he is kind unto the unthankful and to the evil.

36 Be ye therefore merciful, as your Father also is merciful.

37 Judge not, and ye shall not be judged: condemn not, and ye shall not be condemned: forgive, and ye shall be forgiven:

38 Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again.

Sometimes the easiest verses are the most breath-taking. “Be merciful as your Father is merciful”; “Judge not and ye shall not be judged”. How do we practice mercy? How do we keep from being judgemental? I have always maintained that the easiest thing in the world to be, is Christian; conversely, the hardest thing in the world to be is Christian.

Life happens so fast and most of the time we’re consumed with our own cares and projects and duties and chores, we breeze through our day and don’t think twice – ‘was what I said unkind? It happened so quickly, it didn’t occur to me …’ or ‘geez, that person had some nerve doing …’ We are to be informed and aware and alert, to not go through our lives without noticing how we impact others or how we damage ourselves by not being and doing all that Jesus calls us to be or do.

We as Christians carry a double burden – we have not only to check ourselves against our Ruler, to see where we fall short, but we have to remember that if you wear a cross on your body (necklace, ring, whatever), you represent Christ to world and we cannot risk giving Jesus a bad reputation. The secular world is very quick to point us out if we fail – and rightfully so; what we present to the world is how the world thinks about Jesus.

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