"But I say to you who hear, Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you. To one who strikes you on the cheek offer the other also, and from one who takes away your cloak do not withhold your tunic either. Give to everyone who begs from you, and from one who takes away your goods do not demand them back. And as you wish that others would do to you, so do to them" - Jesus, The Beatitudes (Luke 6:22-23).
Lately I have been reading through the Gospel of Luke, and as you can probably guess I have come to the Beatitudes. As I began reading through I was struck by how much I usually gloss over them. I mean, here are the actual words of God incarnate, and I skip over them as just something Jesus said on his way to the cross to give ME salvation. I am not trying to devalue the cross in any way, but I did realize that I do not take Jesus' actual words seriously enough in the here and now of life. This problem, I think, extends into the evangelical church at large.
A good example of this is, I think, would be the general attitude many (including myself) have had towards giving to the homeless. A common excuse for not giving money to the homeless goes something along the lines of "he'll just use it for alcohol", or "how do I know she won't just buy drugs?". But I think our attitude is all wrong. Christ says, "Give to everyone who begs from you, and from one who takes away your goods do not demand them back". As I read this I am struck by how this runs contrary to the many of us in the west think and act. Jesus is showing us a way to live in which selflessness and humble giving are to be ruling principles, yet many of us in the church would balk at such a statement were it made today, and rule it out as "liberal tripe" or "the shallow Social Gospel of the left". We might say, "I have to work and I don't beg so its not fair or right for others to do so!" or "Why would I give up MY cash to a lazy beggar?!". It seems to me, and maybe I'm wrong, that we listen more to the underlying philosophies of the enlightenment which stress our INDIVIDUAL rights, and we skip over these parts of the Gospel we claim to believe, which blatantly clash with our self -centered worldview.
When I look at what Jesus said, did, and who he was I see someone who would be very unhappy with the western world and how we live our lives. I see him not just promoting or advocating, but commanding with heavenly authority to practice compassion, grace, and humility with totally lack of regard for the self and full regard for others. And when I see this I realize that I am guilty of not just disobeying, but flat out ignoring these commands. And I figure that just maybe many others in the western church may want to think about this too. . .
3 comments:
Good point. And when you said, "I see him not just promoting or advocating, but commanding with heavenly authority to practice compassion, grace, and humility with totally lack of regard for the self and full regard for others." I really thought about it. Not only did He command with heavenly authority, but He also LIVED those commands. He led by word AND deed. Thanks for the thoughts and encouragement and challenges you left me with.
Haha I always appreciate your comments becca : ) And I totally agree. The fact that it is lived and not just commanded is the difference I think between Jesus' earthly ministry and other religious gurus.
Ha, Becca, that is EXACTLY what went through my head when I read that as well.
This is definitely something that the Holy Spirit has been stirring in the church (particularly in the younger generation.) His words are too relevant to gloss over, and yet I also find myself guilty of it at times as well.
It is truly the work of the Lord, when in meeting the homeless (or the overly materialistic... to say the opposite!) we are not justifying or excusing ourselves from compassion and service... but have a DESIRE to hear, and know and love with that love that you talk about in the post above...
Post a Comment