On Line Bible Study - For the Week May 31-June 6, 2010
Lesson 442
Luke 6: 32"If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even 'sinners' love those who love them. 33And if you do good to those who are good to you, what credit is that to you? Even 'sinners' do that. 34And if you lend to those from whom you expect repayment, what credit is that to you? Even 'sinners' lend to 'sinners,' expecting to be repaid in full.
It is interesting to ask ourselves about our 'good deeds' - if even sinners do this ... What is it that sets the follower of Jesus apart from the pack? Perhaps one of the most condemning realities is that often 'sinners' are more loving than Christians. But life is not a game of moral oneupmanship, seeing which group can out-love the other. The basis for Christian Ethics is the reality of God's mercy:
Luke 6: 36Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.
God's mercy (love, loving kindness - in Hebrew, חֶסֶד - hesed) has an eternal quality, a timelessness to it. Those who came to believe in Jesus also saw an unconditional quality to divine mercy. Paul refers to it in Romans 5: 8But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
In other words, God doesn't wait for us to 'get it right'. In Jesus, God is 'making it right'. As we receive this love, so must we manifest it to others. In this way we become not only the beneficiaries of God's love; we become full participants in the divine act of loving.
Darrell Bock points out that it is our loving as God loves that "marks out God's child". It is us behaving in this divine manner that suggests we are the children of God. It is also interesting to note that in the parallel passage in the Gospel of Matthew we are called to Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect. The word Matthew uses can also be understood to mean "mature".
Spiritual maturity is measured not by acquired wealth as an indicator that God has blessed us; rather it is determined by the extent to which we are able to love as God loves. As noted in a previous lesson, the standard is high!
Luke 6: 36Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.
God's mercy (love, loving kindness - in Hebrew, חֶסֶד - hesed) has an eternal quality, a timelessness to it. Those who came to believe in Jesus also saw an unconditional quality to divine mercy. Paul refers to it in Romans 5: 8But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
In other words, God doesn't wait for us to 'get it right'. In Jesus, God is 'making it right'. As we receive this love, so must we manifest it to others. In this way we become not only the beneficiaries of God's love; we become full participants in the divine act of loving.
Darrell Bock points out that it is our loving as God loves that "marks out God's child". It is us behaving in this divine manner that suggests we are the children of God. It is also interesting to note that in the parallel passage in the Gospel of Matthew we are called to Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect. The word Matthew uses can also be understood to mean "mature".
Spiritual maturity is measured not by acquired wealth as an indicator that God has blessed us; rather it is determined by the extent to which we are able to love as God loves. As noted in a previous lesson, the standard is high!
posted by Mark D at 4:23 AM
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