"For thou art an holy people unto the LORD thy God, and the LORD hath chosen thee to be a peculiar people unto himself, above all the nations that are upon the earth." ~ Deuteronomy14:2

Saturday, April 21, 2012

Pleasant Stone Devotional Meditation: April 21



"But love ye your enemies, and do good, and lend, hoping for nothing again; and your reward shall be great, and ye shall be the children of the Highest: for he is kind unto the unthankful and to the evil" ~ Luke 6:35

"For he is kind unto the unthankful and to the evil." What a startling statement! But Jesus made it and He should know all that can be known about the heart of the Highest. He came from Him and was going back to Him. He came to let us know what the great heart is really like. When we look closely at it, through this "red stone" verse above, what we find there is too amazing and we pass on quickly, not really believing it.



"For he is kind unto the unthankful and to the evil."  The inherited disposition of sin in us prevents our even noticing this startling observation. The disposition of sin in us somehow wants God to "get even" with those who are "unthankful and evil." And we are implicated in that desired "getting even" because it seems to us that if God will only punish those who are less thankful and more evil than we are, it will somehow "help our cause." But here are the gleaming facets of this exceedingly precious and rare "red stone" and if we dare to look deeply into them under the light of the Holy Spirit, we may find ourselves sitting in amazement among the splinters of our shattered ideas of God's vengeance. Vengeance does belong to the Lord, but only He knows its direction and purpose. We are not to call it down upon the head of any man or woman, no matter how unthankful and no matter how evil. Jesus says we are to love them and treat them well and then we will "be the children of the Highest: for he is kind unto the unthankful and to the evil."

"... God is love ... God is love ..."

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