In Case Anyone Missed The Point

Shortly after all the excitement surrounding the man who had walked away from his Jesus encounter with a brand new hand, the Lord took to the wilds to do a bit of open-air preaching. Just in case anyone had missed the point of the miracle, it was now time to ornament his actions with words. Something as beautiful as the Sabbath had been twisted about to become a burdensome and joyless task. Such is the way of spiritless religion. Jesus would use the Sabbath – time and again – as ground zero where the onerous legalism and the gospel of grace would be contested. A radical teaching was about to be introduced that would set in motion this polar distinction between the kingdom of heaven and the kingdoms of this earth. For those who would become followers of Jesus, they would have to learn how not to curse: “But to you who are listening I say: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. 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. 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.” ~Luke 6:27-31

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We come away from this teaching wildly conflicted. It sounds right. It feels right. It carries a substance within that makes our hearts glad. Yet…a well-earned lack of trust of others begins to poke at us. We’d be most agreeable to this blessing business if everyone else would sign on to the program. But we know they won’t. And so, as our human logic kicks in, so do all the exception clauses that arise from the many weary years of having been hurt and abused by others. We think our particular case, the unique injuries that have come to us are somehow exempt from the command. “If you only knew so and so and what he did you’d feel the same,” we protest. Along with that, we in the States and Western culture have in our DNA a strong affinity for what we call our rights. The values we hold as citizens of this earth become a strong pull that can easily override the values of a heavenly citizenship. This teaching haunts and hurts. It is meant to. We’re being remade. We’re being reborn.