Christian Family Services Ministry

8-9-2018 – A Word to the Wise: Luke 6:32-35 English Standard Version (ESV)

32 “If you love those who love you, what benefit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. 33 And if you do good to those who do good to you, what benefit is that to you? For even sinners do the same. 34 And if you lend to those from whom you expect to receive, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, to get back the same amount. 35 But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return, and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, for he is kind to the ungrateful and the evil.

This powerful passages helps us tune our hearts to the same frequency of the Lord. Understanding it, and failure to measure ourselves by its standard may lead us to exactly opposite standard of behavior.

Notice first of all that love as presented in this passage is an attitude, not a feeling. This is how we are to treat others. We are not to measure our response to others based on their attitude towards us. In fact we are to measure our love towards others as the Heavenly Father. That should be our standard.

So how does one acquire this type of love? First we absolutely must love ourselves. If we reject ourselves, or hate ourselves, then this attitude is reflect in our attitude towards others. Actually my self- loathing thought I pretend it to be humility is self-centered and selfish. Attitudes which are reflected in my behavior towards others.

Attitudes which are apparent when we feel rejected by others and we respond with anger apparent in rejection, and getting even behaviors.

So we must love ourselves, before we can love another, and only to the degree that we love ourselves.

Next, in this search for love is giving up the notion that receiving love is more important than giving love.

If we are conditioned to give love in order to receive love we ultimately discover that our love is possessive, and self-centered. When we use phrases like ‘prove you love me’ we define our selfish purpose. Moreover, we will never be satisfied that we are loved because we had to bargain and manipulate, to force the other to love us.

In contrast Jesus freely gives His love to us, so ought we to do.

This is the core reason for the failure of our marriages, and why our children seek to move as far away from us as they are able. They detect the selfish nature of our so called love, and the desire to enslave another with it.

Jesus says here that we must love expecting nothing in return. This is to mark or characterizes how we are to interact with everyone.