Devotion - Wednesday, April 24

Luke's Gospel has Jesus preaching the same sermon as Matthew, but in Luke it isn't a sermon on a mount, it is a sermon on the plain.  This is one of the things I like about Luke (not that I dislike Matthew, I simply find Luke to be a bit more appealing.)  In Luke, the movement of God toward us is more apparent.  Jesus does not ascend to some lofty place from which he can look down on us; Jesus comes to the level plain, where we already are and where he shows God's desire to be among us.

In Luke's sermon (I read today Luke 6:27-38) Jesus speaks of love for those who do not love us.  "What credit is it" if we love those who love us.  "Even sinners love those who love them."  "Love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return."

Maybe it would be less of a challenge if Jesus didn't come to where I live.  Maybe, if he stayed aloft, he wouldn't see my tendency to only love in return.  Perhaps he has seen me too clearly and understands my motivations.

When Jesus enters our world and our lives it results in things being changed.  It leads to a reversal of the way we do things.  It demands that we love as Jesus loved; not as the world tells us we are to love.

This doesn't mean we become a doormat for others to walk over.  In fact, sometimes our love is shown most clearly when we stand up for what is right and true and appropriate.  Loving as Jesus loves means we remove all ambiguity and we set aside all deception.

Jesus comes to us. This is the story of scripture.  And when he gets here, he see how we live and he tells us how living differently might make our lives and the lives of all those around us so much richer.