Today's Passage: Luke 6

Are you a spectator, or are you a participant? Chapter 6 of Luke opens up with a spectator's view of hypocrisy. The scribes and Pharisees were waiting for Jesus to heal someone on the Sabbath so they could create an accusation against him. It seems utterly ridiculous to the observer that they would be looking to find an offense and in doing so were breaking the spirit of the law they were intent on enforcing.

It's easy to point fingers when you're not a Pharisee. But don't get too comfortable. In just a few verses later, Jesus is telling you to love your enemies. "...For He is kind to the unthankful and evil." Note it does not say "poor, dirty or unfortunate" (for while these are sometimes inconvenient to love, we can usually muster the empathy to reach out).

However, if you've ever done something nice for someone who was ungrateful, it doesn't feel very rewarding. It might even seem like you've thrown your pearls to swine. And be kind to evil people? Doesn't that just make you look weak and subordinate? Isn't God supposed to hit them with a lightening strike or something to show how He powerfully stands up for His followers?

Participating means following His commands, and some of them are going to seem upside down to your natural man. Just remember that as sons and daughters of the Most High, we must show the world who He is, and that is full of mercy and grace.