Love Wins!

I have been reading Luke the last couple of days and somethings stuck out to me that is incredibly pertinent to the discussion we had in class on conflict. We are to be firm and unwavering in what we believe, but gracious and gentle with those that wrong us. Read this passage from Luke 6. In it, Jesus describes the way we ought to treat the difficult relationships in our life.

 ²⁷ “But to you who are listening I say: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, ²⁸ bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. ²⁹ If someone slaps you on one cheek, turn to them the other also. If someone takes your coat, do not withhold your shirt from them. ³⁰ Give to everyone who asks you, and if anyone takes what belongs to you, do not demand it back. ³¹ Do to others as you would have them do to you.   ³² “If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners love those who love them. ³³ And if you do good to those who are good to you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners do that. ³⁴ 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. ³⁵ 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 children of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked. ³⁶ Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.

This can be a really tough teaching. Just a couple of verses above this, Jesus says exactly why these things are true. 6:24 says, "Woe to you who are rich, for you have already received your reward" (You may want to read verses 17-26 for context here). We need to remember what our intended goal is in life and constantly examine the relationships and actions in our own lives. In our own lives, have we already received our reward? Or are we living boldly, knowing that a reward beyond anything we could possess on this earth is in store for us?