Extremely Relevant

Luke 6:32-36 “If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even ‘sinners’ love those who love them. 33 And if you do good to those who are good to you, what credit is that to you? Even ‘sinners’ do that. 34 And if you lend to those from whom you expect repayment, what credit is that to you? Even ‘sinners’ lend to ‘sinners,’ expecting to be repaid in full. 35 But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked. 36 Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.”
 
TWO criticisms against Jesus’ church are that it is 1) extreme and 2) irrelevant. Let’s consider these two charges here in light of Jesus’ teaching.
    Would you agree that following Jesus is extreme? Truly it is. Many have even labeled discipleship as a very radical way of life! Yes, it is extremely different and difficult to live in these ways Jesus preaches to us here.
    Who is the root of this extreme mercy? Of course, he is our extreme God. Jesus identifies him here as, “The Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked.” Through his incarnation, Jesus has testified to God’s extreme kindness, “God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:16)
    God’s merciful love to save you is the reason he commands you, “Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.”
    Now, is mercy irrelevant? Surely the one who has no intention to do as Jesus teaches would have no thoughts of mercy. Just as a car purchased and left in the garage, just as a gift received and put on a shelf, just as a Bible kept in a drawer, God’s mercy is irrelevant to those who refuse to respond to it. Jesus even said God’s unused mercy is irrelevant in his parable: Luke 8:16a “No one lights a lamp and hides it in a jar or puts it under a bed.”
    In contrast, the extreme gospel becomes relevant when you live it: Luke 8:16b “Instead, he puts it on a stand, so that those who come in can see the light.” Light the world in Jesus’ extreme salvation. Be extremely relevant.
 
Prayer: Thank you, Lord, for going to the extreme cross for me. Your death is relevant to my life forevermore because I call you, “Lord and Savior.”  By your extreme grace I have been saved. In your relevant love, I am alive in Christ. May I live to the extreme for you. Amen.