33 lines
1.6 KiB
Markdown
33 lines
1.6 KiB
Markdown
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title = "Luke 6:27–36"
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date = "2022-11-11"
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### [Read the passage.](https://biblia.com/bible/esv/Lk6.27-36)
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When studying the Bible, it's incredibly important to look at the context of a
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passage. Verse 27 starts with the conjunction "but", which indicates a contrast
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between what was said before it and after it. Verses 24 through 26 are the woes
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pronounced against those who have lives fulfilled in this world. Instead, Jesus
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says to His hearers, be like this&emdash;and He gives several actions and
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attitudes that He wants them to practice. Again, like the beatitiudes from the
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beginning of the sermon, they don't make sense from a worldly perspective.
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They are also really hard to get right all the time, as they are against our
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sin natures as well. Doing good to those who hate you is really hard. When
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someone curses you, the immediate reaction is to get mad and think hard
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thoughts about them, at the very least. Blessing them is the last thing on your
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mind. The one that struck me the most was "Give to everyone who begs from you".
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I've definitely been guilty of not doing that.
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Jesus continues with an explanation for His sayings. If we only love those who
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already love us, we are no different from anyone else. The same goes for doing
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good and lending money while expecting to get something in return. But if we
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sacrifice our time and money for other people, He says God will reward us well
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because He is kind to the ungrateful and the evil. (That's us, by the way.) Our
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motivation should be to "pay forward" the mercy that God has given us to the
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people around us.
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* * *
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Help us to see people as You see them.
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