Give Away Your Life

Two mornings ago in my breakfast readings, I read Luke 6:24-42 in The Message, my favorite translation now and what I read from each morning. It impacted me so much, that I re-read it this morning and decided I wanted to share it with others as another powerful description of "The Kingdom of God."

Luke 6:24-42The Message (MSG)

Give Away Your Life

24 But it’s trouble ahead if you think you have it made.
    What you have is all you’ll ever get.

25 And it’s trouble ahead if you’re satisfied with yourself.
    Your self will not satisfy you for long.
And it’s trouble ahead if you think life’s all fun and games.
    There’s suffering to be met, and you’re going to meet it.

26 “There’s trouble ahead when you live only for the approval of others, saying what flatters them, doing what indulges them. Popularity contests are not truth contests—look how many scoundrel preachers were approved by your ancestors! Your task is to be true, not popular.

27-30 “To you who are ready for the truth, I say this: Love your enemies. Let them bring out the best in you, not the worst. When someone gives you a hard time, respond with the energies of prayer for that person. If someone slaps you in the face, stand there and take it. If someone grabs your shirt, giftwrap your best coat and make a present of it. If someone takes unfair advantage of you, use the occasion to practice the servant life. No more tit-for-tat stuff. Live generously.

31-34 “Here is a simple rule of thumb for behavior: Ask yourself what you want people to do for you; then grab the initiative and do it for them! If you only love the lovable, do you expect a pat on the back? Run-of-the-mill sinners do that. If you only help those who help you, do you expect a medal? Garden-variety sinners do that. If you only give for what you hope to get out of it, do you think that’s charity? The stingiest of pawnbrokers does that.

35-36 “I tell you, love your enemies. Help and give without expecting a return. You’ll never—I promise—regret it. Live out this God-created identity the way our Father lives toward us, generously and graciously, even when we’re at our worst. Our Father is kind; you be kind.

37-38 “Don’t pick on people, jump on their failures, criticize their faults—unless, of course, you want the same treatment. Don’t condemn those who are down; that hardness can boomerang. Be easy on people; you’ll find life a lot easier. Give away your life; you’ll find life given back, but not merely given back—given back with bonus and blessing. Giving, not getting, is the way. Generosity begets generosity.”

39-40 He quoted a proverb: “‘Can a blind man guide a blind man?’ Wouldn’t they both end up in the ditch? An apprentice doesn’t lecture the master. The point is to be careful who you follow as your teacher.

41-42 “It’s easy to see a smudge on your neighbor’s face and be oblivious to the ugly sneer on your own. Do you have the nerve to say, ‘Let me wash your face for you,’ when your own face is distorted by contempt? It’s this I-know-better-than-you mentality again, playing a holier-than-thou part instead of just living your own part. Wipe that ugly sneer off your own face and you might be fit to offer a washcloth to your neighbor.

Every person I meet has to do with God.

I just started reading Zephaniah in my morning reads through THE MESSAGE translation by Eugene Peterson and as in most of his book introductions, he has a powerful message or book summary. Read this exert from his brilliant introduction to Zephaniah that I know I need to be reminded of daily: 

 Because the root of the solid spiritual life is embedded in a relationship between people and God, it is easy to develop the misunderstanding that my spiritual life is something personal between God and me – a private thing to be nurtured by prayers and singing, spiritual readings that comfort and inspire, and worship with like-minded friends. If we think this way for very long, we will assume that the way we treat people we don’t like or who don’t like us has nothing to do with God.

That’s when the prophets step in and interrupt us, insisting, “Everything you do or think or feel has to do with God. Every person you meet has to do with God.” We live in a vast world of interconnectedness, and the consequences have consequences, either in things or in people – and all the consequences come together in God. The biblical phrase for the coming together of the consequences is Judgment Day.

We can’t be reminded too often or too forcefully of this reckoning. Zephaniah’s voice in the choir of prophets sustains the intensity, the urgency.

After loving God, Jesus says the most important thing we do is love people. God help me to see you in everyone I meet today, even people who are not kind to me or whom I don't like.

Grace for the New Year

I saw Les Miserables, the new movie today. It is a powerful story of love and grace very well presented in this movie. It is best summed up for me by a paragraph in the Christianity Today review:

"As a Christian, I have always been drawn to the portrayal of faith in Les Misérables. The bishop displays a Christ-like mercy to Valjean that literally transforms him. He emerges from that church figuratively born again, with a new identity and an entirely new course in life. And we see this transformed life touch others in need with compelling grace and love. This is all in sharp contrast to the character of Javert, a man of the law. He shows no mercy, and when mercy is eventually shown to him, instead of being transformed he is undone. Wonderful discussions could stem from these two characters alone. And I love that there are such beautifully faith-inspired characters in a film today."
-Camerin Courtney

His Spirit is seen or felt throughout this movie. I recommend it!