Luke 6
I love reading the gospels, for they make me feel as if I’m actually walking with the Lord and listening to the gracious words that flowed out of His mouth.
Jesus came to earth because He wanted to preach the Kingdom Gospel to man, for it is His desire for all man to come to the knowledge of God, and be saved from destruction.
And as I read today’s chapter, the word “love” kept appearing in my mind; so I’ll share some of my thoughts after reading this chapter.
Bible Passage: Luke 6
Jesus Is The Lord Of The Sabbath
The Sabbath was established right from the time of creation. What was God’s purpose of establishing a day of rest? Was it that He needed rest, or was it all for the sake of man? I believe you know the answer.
God is our Creator, He knows our frame, He knew our limitations; therefore whatever He has planned and done, they are all for the good of humanity, especially those who love Him.
The Sabbath was meant to be a delight to the people of God (ref. Isaiah 58:13), but it was the Pharisees who had added many rigid restrictions to the Sabbath Day observation, which they called it laws of the Sabbath, that it became more of a burden than delight to the people of God.
This restriction had somehow lingered on in the minds of many Christians of today, so much so that they fail to see the significance of the Sabbath Day.
They view observation of the Sabbath as a restrictive law that Christ had already nailed it together with Him on the cross.
To me, to disregard the importance of the Sabbath Day, is not only rejecting the commandment of God, it is also an act of disregarding the love of God that He wants to shower upon man.
“If you turn back your foot from the Sabbath,
from doing your pleasure on my holy day,
and call the Sabbath a delight
and the holy day of the LORD honorable;
if you honor it, not going your own ways,
or seeking your own pleasure, or talking idly;
then you shall take delight in the LORD,
and I will make you ride on the heights of the earth;
I will feed you with the heritage of Jacob your father,
for the mouth of the LORD has spoken.”
Isaiah 58:13-14 (ESV)
What are our feelings when we enter into the weekly Sabbath? Are we prepared to renew our love towards God and our fellow brethren every Sabbath?
What Does It Take To Be A True Follower Of Christ?
1. Know the true value of being a follower of Christ.
I’m sure all of us are very familiar with the Beatitudes spoken of by our Lord, but it is totally not easy to do exactly what the Beatitudes require of us.
Looking at the Beatitudes according to what Luke had recorded, let us ask ourselves, can we be humble, are we truly hungry for the truth, can we face our difficulties with hope, knowing that the Lord has plans for us through these rough times; and can we endure insults for the sake of Christ?
There are assured blessings that will accompany if we can fulfill these requirements, but most often than not, our pride and man’s fear tend to drown all these promises made to us, and we carry on to lead our lives according to our comfort, our own principles and our own standards.
That could be the reason why our Lord, after speaking of the Beatitudes, followed on to warn us (v24 to 26) of the nice and soothing words from people and the comfortable lives that we may be leading; for this kind of life was what the false prophets had in the past, and this kind of life will cause us to be complacent, vulnerable to the deception of the world.
But in order to be true followers of Christ, we must put in our utmost to strive to live by the standards taught by our Lord Jesus.
Leading a life according to the standards of the Lord may not be a physically pleasant one, but the assured spiritual bliss that awaits us can make all the unpleasantness worthwhile to endure.
2. Apply the true love and mercy that we have learnt from the Lord.
The true Christ-like love is sometimes mind boggling to the people of the world, but is it so to us as followers of Christ? It should not be.
To many people of the world, or those who do not know Christ, it is already very magnanimous for one not to take revenge or bear grudges on his/her enemy. But what our Lord commands us is not only never to take vengeance (ref. Heb. 10:30), but to go one step higher to “love your enemy”! Can this be done? Yes, if we are willing to humble ourselves, and be led by the power of the Holy Spirit.
For the Apostle Paul assures us,
“I can do all things through Him who strengthens me” – Philippians 4:13
But I think before we know how to love our enemy, let us first learn and start by loving those brethren who may have often crossed our paths and even get on our nerves every now and then.
And with the power of the Holy Spirit, I believe we all can go the extra mile for all who ask for help or our concerns from us
3. Be obedient and DO the word of God in order to stand firm in the faith.
I’m sure none of us can stand people who are “NATO”. (btw NATO = No Action, Talk Only)
Do you think our Lord can be pleased with Christians who can talk a lot but have no real actions?
In these last days, the world is increasing in temptations, trials, immorality, and false teachings. All these can make us fall from the grace of God, so if we are not founded firmly upon the truth of God, we can be easily led to destruction!
Being firmly founded on the truth is not only to know the truths, but to also live out the truths that we have been taught by the Holy Bible.
Similarly, as what Elder James had admonished us,
But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror. For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like. But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing.
James 1:22-25 (ESV)
LIFE is dormant and hidden in theology, but APPLICATION can awaken the LIFE hidden in it.
May God help us all in our pursuit after holiness, so that we can stand strong in our faith to be a true follower of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Shalom.