NOTES: much of
this post is copied from something I shared in June of 2012. Also, yesterday I mentioned my family is
visiting family, but they are in Georgia and not Oklahoma. Read on, and I pray you are blessed.
It is natural to
love the people who love you and to like people that are like you, but when it
comes to people hurting, slapping or taking advantage of you, we think the
right thing to do is take revenge in our own hands.
But that is not
what God tells us to do. We are to react to people in a different way
that will help them see what the love of God is all about. Our actions
will open a door for people to see and experience God. Maybe you’ve seen
someone react differently and have been shocked by his or her radical grace.
Love in reverse is
radical grace. It is the unexpected. It is loving the
unlovable. It is going the second mile or giving to someone who we think
doesn’t deserve it. God is calling us as his kids to offer people what
God has offered us. He has given us second chances. He has given us
forgiveness and grace. He has given us the ability to really live when
life is tough.
What do you
think love in reverse looks like?
You have heard the law that says the
punishment must match the injury: ‘An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth.’ But I say, do not resist an evil person! If someone slaps
you on the right cheek, offer the other cheek also. If you are sued in court and your shirt is taken from you,
give your coat, too. If a soldier
demands that you carry his gear for a mile, carry it two miles. Give to
those who ask, and don’t turn away from those who want to borrow. “You
have heard the law that says, ‘Love your neighbor’ and hate your enemy. But I say, love your enemies! Pray for those who persecute you! In that way, you
will be acting as true children of your Father in heaven. For he gives his
sunlight to both the evil and the good, and he sends rain on the just and the
unjust alike.
If you love only those who love
you, what reward is there for that? Even corrupt tax collectors do that much. If you are kind only to your friends, how are you
different from anyone else? Even pagans do that.
How is God leading you to love in
reverse? Who is it that needs to see radical grace lived out in front of
them? May God help us live as true children of God loving in reverse.
UPDATE: there are several reasons
why I copied this devotion for you to read once again. One of those is that this still speaks to me
and about my desire to share God’s love with others. Also, there are so many people in the news
and even around our lives that need to know God’s love. They don’t need our judgment or even our
opinions. We must speak truth, but speak
it in love. Love is intended to redeem
people and not to make them run away.
Experience and share radical grace which is love in reverse.
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