Luke 6:31-36 builds on a fundamental premise, reciprocity. We tend to respond to others in kind. Those who love us, we love; to those who are kind to us, we are kind; to those who are harsh with us, we tend to be harsh. But Jesus teaches us that we should treat people as we want to be treated, regardless of whether they actually do so.
This is the exercise of agapé. Obedience to this has great virtue, for it is Christ setting a standard for all disciples. It is not easy; it demands our reliance on a higher power than ourselves—God’s indwelling presence.
We must decide what our values and priorities are; we must choose to forsake some things in the pursuit of others. Not all must forsake wealth to follow Christ, but all must forsake the love of money. Life involves choices. We must choose what in life to pursue. Every choice has both benefits (blessings) and costs.
The Gospel of Jesus Christ is the good news of a gift—eternal life—which is of infinite value. To have it is worth the loss of anything else. The cost is that we must reject sinful behavior and trust only in Christ. We must forsake all other gods and follow Christ alone. If our choice comes with the periods of poverty, hunger, sadness and rejection, it is well worth it.
Jesus never minimized the cost of discipleship. He didn’t need to, because intimacy with God is the greatest of all blessings. All other “blessings” are inferior. God’s values must be ours. It is not the pursuit of riches that is wrong, but the pursuit of false riches.
Agapé is of and from God (I John 4:8). Everything God does flows from love. God loves the unlovable and the unlovely—us—not because we deserve to be loved, but because it is God’s nature to love us. In the same way, we are to love others sacrificially. Sacrificial love is not a feeling, but a determined act of the will, a joyful resolve to put the welfare of others above our own.
(We invite your comments. Feel free to share this devotion with your friends and invite them to subscribe by forwarding their email address to the Pastor at: fredjeffsmith@gmail.com)
Mornings with Shiloh airs on WVLA Channel 33 each weekday at 6:58 a. m. CST. Mornings with Shiloh is available on our Youtube channel at 8:00 a.m. CST.
CLICK THE LINK BELOW TO ACCESS OUR YOUTUBE CHANNEL:
https://www.youtube.com/@ShilohMBCBR/videos
Want to get more involved at Shiloh?
Browse our Ministries