“Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful” (Lk.6:36) “Love your enemies,” (Anybody can despise and wish harm for their enemies). “Do good to them” (Lest you become like them). Such counter-intuitive, revolutionary kindness will reveal you are daughters and sons of Abba—the Most High God. “He is kind to the ungrateful and wicked”—including to you. (Paraphrase of Luke 6:35).
Heavenly Father, I don’t want to “qualify” these verses to death—listing everything they can’t possibly mean. Rather, I want to start this weekend marveling in the greatness of the mercy and grace you have lavished on me and my brothers and sisters. For loving well and wisely in complex relationships always flows from staying alive to your great love and kindness for us in Jesus. So, help us, Abba. Thaw our affection-chilled, mercy-presumptive, grace-assuming hearts.
We have no problem acknowledging our ingratitude—for we indulge it every day. But in what ways are we “wicked,” Father? Perhaps these two words have more in common than we realize. What is more “wicked” than repudiating, disbelieving, under-believing, forgetting, marginalizing the riches of your grace? Theoretical sinners only need theoretical mercy and grace. Abba, we want the real stuff because we need the real stuff. Grant us fresh, potent Gospel-renewal.
Many of us are currently involved in testy and testing relationships. It’d be 100 times easier to call down fire on some people in our lives than to call down your grace—and that’s simply not okay. Keep us humble and grateful, Abba—even as we will look to you for wisdom. Set off a super loud alarm in our hearts when resentment and retaliation come easier to us than being merciful and kind. Your kindness led and leads us to repentance. Our snarkiness and harshness will lead others in the opposite direction. So Very Amen.
