Borrowed from - http://www.crosswalk.com/devotionals/homeword/
This devotional was written by Kelly McFadden
But if you are willing to listen, I say, love your enemies. Do good to those who hate you. Pray for the happiness of those who curse you. Pray for those who hurt you. If someone slaps you on one cheek, turn the other cheek. If someone demands your coat, offer your shirt also. Give what you have to anyone who asks you for it. And when things are taken away from you, don’t try to get them back. Do for others as you would like them to do for you... You must be compassionate, just as your Father is compassionate. Luke 6:27-31, 36
In the last decade Boulder, Colorado has received a reputation it didn’t want: a school that riots. The first of the riots occurred in 1996 in an area called “The Hill”. How did they start? No one is really sure. What we do know is that after the first bottle was thrown, came another, then another, and another. Once one couch was burned, came another, then another, and another. Once one window was smashed, came another, then another and another…you get my drift.
Riots have the ability to sway groups of people and cause them to do things they wouldn’t normally do simply because it is easy to get caught up in the crowd. Perhaps you should think of starting a riot – a different type of riot to be sure – the type that Jesus started. He started a riot of reckless love. We are still affected today by how Jesus spoke to the woman at the well, or the way he ate in the home of a tax collector. What about when Jesus stepped in the way of an adulterous woman who was about to be stoned? All these acts were unheard of at the time. Jesus loved people who were unlovable and He loved them in very simple, yet profound ways. To this day, almost 2000 years later, we are still swayed by how Jesus loved people.
Think through your day. What would happen if you practiced simple acts of love and kindness to others around you? I believe you could start something that others would get caught up in – a “holy riot” - where one act of love leads to another, then another, and another… you get my drift .
GOING DEEPER:
1. Think of 3 ways you can make someone else’s day brighter.
2. Is there someone in your life who feels impossible to love? What can you do to show them the kind of love Jesus had for them?
FURTHER READING :
Proverbs 25:21, 22; Matthew 5:43-48; Romans 12:17-21
2 comments:
I always find this passage interesting and convicting. Combine this with Matthew 18:21 Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, "Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother when he sins against me? Up to seven times?" 22 Jesus answered, "I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times." and boy, now we have ourselves quite a predicament. How many of us truly act this way when we think some injustice has happen to us??? I certainly know I don’t. Honestly, not sure I ever will completely. I do know I can try to change though. I once read this suggestion that every time someone does something bad to you, do the opposite to them. I should try that on the home front. Every time I get frustrated, does something nice for KHS.
Blessing,
cas
I agree with you cas, I need to try and turn my frustrations into doing something nice for AAB.
Same thing at work, I am too quick to get frustrated when people are inconsiderate.
crb
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