Meditate.
Love your enemies! Do good to them. Lend to them without expecting to be repaid. Then your reward from heaven will be very great, and you will truly be acting as children of the Most High, for he is kind to those who are unthankful and wicked. You must be compassionate, just as your Father is compassionate. Luke 6:35-36
In His Sermon on the Mount, Jesus taught
his disciples and other followers how they should live. One of the things He
conveyed was to be compassionate like God…compassionate to those who are
unthankful and wicked. Unthankful? Wicked? There were people with those
characteristics in Jesus time…just as they are in our time. Are we unthankful
at some time? Maybe not intentionally, but I think as we take things for
granted, we may seem ungrateful. We generally have life so good. There is food
on the table, a roof over our heads, warm clothes in the winter…and masks to wear
so that we don’t spread germs and viruses. We take our lives for granted…no
persecution. For Christians in other nations they must struggle against enemies
who are persecuting them—living or dying for Christ against all odds. Our
enemies? I think we are often our own worst enemy. We judge others—but as that
is how we will be judged. Can we be compassionate to others…loving our enemies?
Doing good to others as we would expect or want others to do for us?
Be compassionate.
Tenderhearted.
Forgiving.
The Old Testament has direction to love
neighbor as yourself, just as Jesus taught and is recorded in the New
Testament. Nothing new in this direction and command for us to follow.
-
Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against a fellow Israelite, but love
your neighbor as yourself. I am the LORD. Leviticus 19:18
-
"Teacher, which is the most important commandment in the law of
Moses?" Jesus replied, "'You must love the LORD your God with all
your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.' This is the first and greatest
commandment. A second is equally important: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.'
The entire law and all the demands of the prophets are based on these two commandments."
Matthew 22:36-40 (Underlined for emphasis.)
Love your enemy…love your neighbor…love yourself…love God. That’s a lot of love.
Consider your actions while there is still time. Are you showing and sharing compassion and kindness as well as love for God and others?
Prayer
~ Dear God, may Your kindness be reflected in my life, and that of my family,
friends and neighbors. You’ve promised to reward those who are kind, but those
who are cruel will be destroyed.
Evil people get rich for the moment, but the reward of the godly will last. Godly people find life; evil people find death. From Proverbs 11:17-19. Thank You that You have showed us and encouraged us to be kind…to love others as ourselves…and to love You.
Verses
of Salvation ~ All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed
us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms because we are united
with Christ. Even before he made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ
to be holy and without fault in his eyes. God decided in advance to adopt us
into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. This is
what he wanted to do, and it gave him great pleasure. So we praise God for the
glorious grace he has poured out on us who belong to his dear Son. He is so
rich in kindness and grace that he purchased our freedom with the blood of his
Son and forgave our sins. He has showered his kindness on us, along with all
wisdom and understanding. Ephesians 1:3-8
©
2020 by Mickey M. Hunacek. All rights reserved.
Unless
otherwise indicated, all scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation,
copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of
Tyndale House
Publishers, Inc. Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
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