rosemary lavender

Luke 6 verse 27-28. “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 ill-treat you.”

Jesus has just spoken about people being reviled and cast out because of Him. Now he tells us how we are to treat those who do this to us. The Christian way of dealing with rejection and persecution is to love those who consider themselves our enemies.

We must behave in a way that is exemplary to those who are not Christians. The mark of a true disciple is not only how he/she treats fellow disciples but also how we treat our enemies.

In so doing we display the character of our Father in Heaven. God is just – yes! But He is also merciful. If He were not, where would we be? And so we display this side of God’s nature to those who give us a hard time.

This is not only hard to do, but it is in fact impossible for human nature to live so counter intuitively unless something happens to our hearts. Thus for Christians, when we were born again, we inherited our Father’s nature and thus when provoked we exhibit it and we turn the other cheek. For Christians moral behaviour is a matter of being true disciples and not just a matter of keeping rules and regulations.

So don’t be discouraged by hostility. Remember the world is a dark and ignorant place spiritually. Do not expect accolades for becoming Christians. Jesus, our Lord and Saviour, himself warned us, thus, if the world hated Him, it would hate us also. And that hatred is displayed in countless ways, from outright rejection to simple ongoing disapproval which can be very wearying. Keep your eyes on the Lord. Be true to Him. Great will be your reward. They have received their “comfort” now, but yours is still coming.