Good
Morning Friends,
"Do
to others as you would have them do to you. 'If you love those who love you,
what credit is that to you? Even 'sinners' love those who love them. And if you
do good to those who are good to you, what credit is that to you? Even
'sinners' do that. And if you lend to those from whom you expect repayment,
what credit is that to you? Even 'sinners' lend to 'sinners,' expecting to be
repaid in full. But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them
without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you
will be sons of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked.
Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.'" (Luke 6:31-36)
How
do you treat the people you love? How do you treat the people who agree with
you? How do you treat the people who treat you well? Those are not the tests of
a heart that is modeled after the heart of God. The test comes in how you treat
the people you do not like, how you treat the people who disagree with you, and
how you treat the people who treat you poorly. If you respond to them in ways that
mirror the ways they have treated you, then you are acting like the world. If
you respond to them in ways that demonstrate love and mercy, then you are
acting with the heart of God.
How
does God respond to those who treat Him poorly? How does God respond to those
who disagree with Him and disobey Him? How does God respond to people who ignore
Him and do not love Him? You can answer that by thinking about how God has
responded to you, because you fit all of those descriptions, or did at one
time. God demonstrates patience, waiting for them to turn to Him. He
demonstrates compassion, continuing to provide for them. He demonstrates mercy,
always offering forgiveness and restored relationship with Him.
The
question is – are you responding to others like God has responded to you?
His,
by Grace, Steve
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