Food for Thought: Jesus Provokes Our Perceptions - Luke 6:27-49

1. The Golden Rule - generosity, love and mercy
read 6:27-36
This is one area where we can all improve. It's so natural to "look out for number 1", to hold on to what we have with a death grip, and if anybody crosses us, Look Out!... as Smeagol says in Lord of the Rings, "We be nice to them, if they be nice to us!" Anybody at all can do that. The challenge comes when we are insulted, beaten up, ignored, the times when anyone would tell you that you have every reason to kick the ever-loving snot out of whoever did that to you. Jesus turns that idea on its head and says that vengeance is the easy way out. Anyone can get revenge, but it takes a different kind of strength not to. Anyone can "do unto others as they have done to you", but do you have the courage to buck that trend and start a better one?
2. A Good Measure - exponential rewards
read 6:37-38
How often are we quick to pick out someone's faults, the reasons why we're better than they are, what they should be doing differently for us to accept them? God sees that, and Jesus says that our reward is paid out using the same measure that we use, only more so. If we deal out judgement and condemnation, guess what we're asking for? If we offer forgiveness, God offers us forgiveness... *Guess what? I don't enjoy saying this because I struggle too and it's hard to think about it this way, but if we don't forgive the little others have done to us, then we cease to accept the forgiveness God offers to us, which is far greater. We cheat ourselves in the long run by holding on to bitterness. And if we give, whether it be blessings, money, time, to help others, who is more able to help us than God? We often get the impression that the more we get, the more "blessed" we are: I've been blessed with this car, or video game, or new pair of shoes. But Jesus says that the more you give, the more blessed you are. Totally the opposite of what anyone else would say. To put it one way:
Are you willing to do what it takes, to give what it takes, in order to get what you need so you'll have what it takes to be who you need to be?
3. "2 X 4 Face" - keeping it real
read 6:39-42
This is pretty straightforward. Don't be a hypocrite! If you're doing something wrong and you recognize that someone else is doing it wrong as well, that's one thing. If you ream them out, and try to help them, but do nothing to change your own life, you won't end up helping yourself OR them. It'll be like having a 2 X 4 in your eye, and telling someone about the sawdust that's in theirs. It's utterly ridiculous. JUST DON'T DO IT!!!
4. You Can Fool God None of the Time
read 6:43-45
Have you heard the expression, "you can fool all of the people some of the time, and you can fool some people all of the time, but you can't fool all of the people all of the time"? Well, you can never fool God. And eventually who you really are will come out to those around you too. We like to make masks to hide behind and pretend we're something we aren't, but Jesus says that, try as we may, it'll never work, because: the fruit we produce shows what kind of tree we are. What we say and do gives us away.
5. Building a Life's Foundation on the Rock
This is why I love the name of the drop-in, "The Rock". I see its purpose as providing a foundation for life.... but back to the Scripture...
read 6:46-49
Obviously, the guy who built the firm foundation on the rock made the better choice. Although both of the men built a house (a good thing), and both hit some real bad weather (a part of life), his house stood firm, while the other one was instantly and completely destroyed. If we don't have a solid foundation, the storms of life will come and we won't be ready for them. What we need is to come to Jesus, hear His words... wait, even the foolish man did that... oh right, and put them into practice. That means:
- understanding who Jesus is and why we need Him
- understanding what we need to do about it... and
- doing it.
That's not just becoming a Christian and then everything will be fun and games. First of all, the storms come no matter what, and your foundation is tested, and second, there's also living like a Christian, which means living like Christ. Sound simple? Yes. Sound easy? No. But...
What is ever easy that's worthwhile?