Willing To Listen

Scripture: Luke 6:27-36

27 “But to you who are willing to listen, I say, love your enemies! Do good to those who hate you. 28 Bless those who curse you. Pray for those who hurt you. 31 Do to others as you would like them to do to you. 32 “If you love only those who love you, why should you get credit for that? Even sinners love those who love them! 33 And if you do good only to those who do good to you, why should you get credit? Even sinners do that much! 34 And if you lend money only to those who can repay you, why should you get credit? Even sinners will lend to other sinners for a full return. 35 “Love your enemies! Do good to them. Lend to them without expecting to be repaid. Then your reward from heaven will be very great, and you will truly be acting as children of the Most High, for he is kind to those who are unthankful and wicked. 36 You must be compassionate, just as your Father is compassionate. (Luke 6:27-28, 31-36 NLT)

Was Jesus too hard to understand, or were the things he said too easy to understand? Mark Twain said, “It’s not the things in the Bible I don’t understand that bother me. It’s the things I do understand.” Jesus upset the religious people (who really truly believed they were right) by coloring outside the lines, by acting in ways that didn’t fit within their behavioral boundaries, by saying things that challenged their religious comfort zone.

Sincere-hearted ordinary people and even very irreligious people flocked to him. But Jesus had challenging truth for even the sincere-hearted people. Jesus told them that they needed to love their enemies. Read this if you think Jesus’ teachings are easy:“29 If someone slaps you on one cheek, turn the other cheek. If someone demands your coat, offer your shirt also. 30 Give what you have to anyone who asks you for it; and when things are taken away from you, don’t try to get them back.” (Luke 6:29-30 NLT)

I’m ready and willing to listen to the truth. I’m not satisfied with religion and I’m not satisfied with how effectively I live the teachings of Jesus. In the movie “A Few Good Men,” Tom Cruise’s character says, “I just want the truth!” Jack Nicholson’s character shouts back at him, “You can’t handle the truth!” I’m willing to listen – I just hope I can handle the truth! Jesus just keeps on truth-telling and I’ve got to keep on truth-hearing and truth-living.

Prayer:

Father, I’m willing to listen and I want to hear the truth.  I don’t know if I can handle it or not, but you sent your Holy Spirit to lead me into living the truth that Jesus spoke.  Help me not to rationalize and excuse myself from practicing the pure and simple truth.  Help me not to waffle on speaking the truth in love to those I influence.  Amen.