Love

Do you understand this part of Scripture or do you gloss over it?   Luke 6:27

I can tell you I have in the past and still would like, at times, to gloss over it.

I’m supposed to love as God loves (in the Greek it means actively doing what the Lord prefers, with Him—by His power and direction.

God loves everyone; He died on the cross and was raised for everyone…..no exceptions! If we are to love like that it will take His power and direction, at least for me!

“But I tell you who hear me: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you.

Did you notice it say ‘who hear me’.

That means we are to listen to Him, to hear God’s voice which prompts Him to birth faith within.

Then He goes on to say it’s our ‘enemies’ we are to love and do well to. We are to do good to those that hate us, bless those that curse us and pray for those that mistreat us.

So let me see if I’m loving as I’m supposed to…..someone tells awful lies about me, my husband or my daughter; someone may murder one of my loved ones; someone may steal from me; someone may make advances towards my husband; the list can go on and on…….

Then He goes on to say -

If someone strikes you on one cheek, turn to him the other also. If someone takes your cloak, do not stop him from taking your tunic. 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 they strike us we turn the other cheek, they steal we give them more and while they do wrong to us we are to do to them as we wish they were doing to us.

In the worldly way of thinking this is asinine. Why should I do this to someone so obviously evil and mean? We rationalize and say they deserve everything I do back to them. I can make my lies bigger than theirs, I can reverse it and flirt with their boyfriend/husband, and I can kill for revenge...….stop right there!! 

That is truly the world’s way of thinking, acting in the flesh and not the Spirit. That does not make things better for anyone. It does not give you or anyone else a chance to see the truth of God’s Word and His ways. It will not increase your faith in Him. You see God has His reasons for telling us how we are to respond because it is His desire that all be saved – ALL.

“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 sons 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

More can be said about these Scriptures but I will stop here for now.

Read these, look up the Greek for love, enemy, etc. Ask God to give you revelation and wisdom.

Love like He loves and you will be amazed.

Christena Hammes

Has Breath Publishing LLC

(c)

Hear  - Greek - 191 akoúō – properly, to hear (listen); (figuratively) to hear God's voice which prompts Him to birth faith within

Love - Greek - With the believer, 25 /agapáō ("to love") means actively doing what the Lord prefers, with Him (by His power and direction). True 25 /agapáō ("loving") is always defined by God – a "discriminating affection which involves choice and selection"

Enemy - Greek - 2190 exthrós – properly, an enemy; someone openly hostile (at enmity), animated by deep-seated hatred. 2190/exthros ("enemy"), implies irreconcilable hostility, proceeding out of a "personal" hatred bent on inflicting harm (DNTT).