Grace for Our Enemies

Author's note; This was written days before Russia invaded Ukraine. As we pray for our sisters and brothers in Ukraine, do we dare pray for Russia - the perpetrator - the enemy? Jesus told us to. May we pray that their hearts will be changed and they will see the evil in their actions and will strive instead for peaceful interactions. MJB

“Forgive and you shall be forgiven.” Luke 6:37

I’ve been reading the book, What’s So Amazing About Grace by Philip Yancey, and in it he talks about forgiveness which is one part of grace where God forgives our sins as a free gift. There is nothing we have to earn or show our best self for. He says that in comparing the world’s religions today, the one difference that stands out in Christianity is grace – the gift of salvation by no merit of our own.

In response to this, in our Luke 6 passage we are told to love our enemies – to be merciful as God the Father has been merciful to us – to forgive and you will be forgiven.

Psalms 37 tells us not to worry or be envious of the wicked since their day will come. Meanwhile we are to trust and delight in the Lord. We are to wait patiently for the Lord since those who wait on him will inherit the land and delight themselves in abundant prosperity.

Could this land be the Kingdom of God? By focusing on our own righteousness – the Lord will be with us and protect us and be our fortress in times of trouble. God will be our rescuer from the wicked.

Jesus, however, in Luke 6 adds more to this not worrying about the wicked. He asks us to love them – to love our enemies. We are to do good to them and lend to them expecting nothing in return. We are to follow the Lord’s example of being kind and merciful to the ungrateful and the wicked.

We are told not to judge or condemn – to forgive and give. If we judge or condemn, it will come back to us. It is better to forgive and give and receive forgiveness. The measure you give will be the measure returned to you.

Yancey in his book tells how much better global relations would be if instead of striking back a wrong, we would offer forgiveness. Sad to say that the world today works on what he calls “ungrace,” not loving, forgiving, or showing mercy to the enemy.

By loving and showing mercy, we can truly live in the land – we can live and thrive in the kingdom of God. This is a kingdom fueled by grace – the forgiveness of sin as a free gift.

Since we’ve received this free gift, who are we to judge the sins of another or be envious of how blessed their lives seem to be.  Let us focus on seeking our own righteousness, forgiving our enemies and praying lovingly for them that they will too one day accept this grace of forgiveness from our Lord. Amen

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Job’s Restoration/David’s Redemption

  Job 42:1-6, 10-17; Psalms 34:1-8, 19-22   After Job has a long talk from God, Job answers acknowledging his own lack of knowledge compared with God’s. He talks about uttering things he did not understand. Now after hearing and seeing God he repents in dust and ashes. What is his reward for this humility? God not only delivers him from all his troubles, but God restores his fortunes twice as much as he had before. He lives till 140 seeing four generations. In the 34 th Psalm, David praises God for deliverance from trouble. He addresses the myth that the righteous have no troubles – just ask Job. David says in verse 19 that many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord will rescue them from them all. He brings up the point, however, that God is with us during our struggles. This suffering soul cried out and was heard by God who saved him from every trouble. He tells how the angel of the Lord surrounds those who fear him and delivers them. Verse 8 talks about t...
Read more

Wiping Away Tears

  Isaiah 25:6-9, Revelation 21:1-5a   It was hard choosing which two Lectionary readings to write on this week. The gospel story of the Rising of Lazarus is one of my favorites. But since I’ve touched on that account in the past I was drawn to the Isaiah and Revelation passages that talk about wiping away tears. Isaiah prophecies of a time to come where the Lord of Hosts will make a feast of the best foods for all people. Earlier in verse 4 it tells how the enemies of the Lord will be defeated and the poor, needy, and distressed championed. Then it is said that the Lord will wipe away the tears from all faces and disgrace will be removed. Not only this great feast for all but the Lord will swallow up death forever. Salvation has come to those who have waited on the Lord. Instead of tears they will be glad and rejoice in God’s salvation. In Revelation we have John’s vision of God’s final salvation coming. He sees a new heaven and a new earth. A voice tells him this is the...
Read more

Reverent Submission II

Mark 10:35-45, Hebrews 5:1-10 In the gospel of Mark, James and John ask Jesus if they could have the high status of sitting next to Christ in glory. In answer Christ asks the question of whether they can drink the cup – basically go through the same suffering Jesus will go through and be metaphorically baptized by fire like Christ will be. To this they reply yes. Jesus confirms that they will actually do so – little do they realize what this will mean. However, he can not appoint who will sit next to him, only God can. The other ten disciples when they hear of this arrogance of James and John become angry with them. Jesus turns this into a teaching moment turning the hierarchy of the world upside down. He says he who wants to be great must be a servant. In regard to James and John wanting first place in the seating Christ says who ever wishes to be first must be a slave of all. He hits them with a surprising sentence – something they didn’t expect. It is that he, the Son of Man, ca...
Read more