You didn't really mean that, did you Jesus?

Luke 6:27-35 NASB

"But I say to you who hear, love your enemies, do good to those who hate you,  bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you.  "Whoever hits you on the cheek, offer him the other also; and whoever takes away your coat, do not withhold your shirt from him either.  "Give to everyone who asks of you, and whoever takes away what is yours, do not demand it back.  "Treat others the same way you want them to treat you.  "If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them.  "If you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners do the same.  "If you lend to those from whom you expect to receive, what credit is  that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners in order to receive back the same amount.  "But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return; and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High; for He Himself is kind to ungrateful and evil men.

My thoughts -

Yesterday we read about Jesus turning some assumptions about God's blessings on their heads. It's a little jarring to hear "blessed are the poor" and "woe to the rich". It is perhaps even more jarring to hear that you a blessed when others curse you and woe to you when they speak well of you. We like to be comfortable. We like to be safe and secure. We like to be well regarded. It just feels better. But Jesus didn't come to give us what we want. He came to give us what we need, a restored relationship with God. And the Kingdom of God looks an awful lot different than what we have made for ourselves on Earth.

Here Jesus says that we are to love our enemies, bless those who curse us, pray for those who mistreat us, and if someone smacks us across the face we are to present the other side of our face for them to smack as well. That's some pretty radical stuff. And I completely fail to do any of it.

I want to say that I love my enemies but that love is strictly some kind of academic idea of love that is available to everyone. There's no specific loving actions offered. There's no sentiment there, either. The best I can offer as far as loving goes is that I generally don't act on my hate. That's not the same thing. Not by a long shot. And there's no way, if someone decks me, that I'm not going to return the favor or die trying. To suggest otherwise is just crazy talk. It's nonsense.

So then, how am I following Jesus? He says that even sinners can love people who love them. Anyone can love their "loved ones". There's nothing special about that. But God loves His enemies. Christ came while we were sinners, while we were God's enemies, while we were in open rebellion against God, to reconcile us to God. God loved us, God's enemies. Christ was/is the vehicle for that love. Jesus, as an expression of God's love for God's enemies is teaching us to love like God. And it's not easy.

Now, if you think that's radical there's even more. Jesus tells us to lend without expecting anything in return. So if you're following here Jesus has asked us to love our enemies. He has asked us to do good to people who hate us. He has asked us bless those who curse us and to pray for those who mistreat us. We are to suffer indignities so peacefully that even if we get hit upside the head we are not to retaliate but instead to turn the other side of our head to get smacked as well. And if that's not enough we are supposed to shell out our money not to make a profit, not to invest wisely, not to people we know are good for it; but we are instead to lend it expecting nothing in return.

Now Jesus, I was with you when you prescribed two concussions for the price of one but now you want me to just give my money away to people who may not be able to repay and you don't even want me to charge interest? That's crazy, man. It'll never work.

Can you imagine a world run with the kind of radical generosity Jesus prescribes here? It's just not practical. We all know this, right? Surely Jesus didn't really mean this, did he?

If he did he doesn't actually expect us to do it, right? It's just some romantic ideal, isn't it?