BECOMING CHILDREN OF THE MOST HIGH
Jenna Worsham
Today’s Scripture: “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 is kind to the ungrateful and the evil.” Luke 6:35, ESV
Theme: This Christmas, remember that God’s kindness is for you.
LOVE, DO GOOD, AND LEND
Always good advice, especially during the Christmas season. Whether or not we feel the joy of the season, opportunities to do good, give, love, and serve are accessible and fun to participate in this time of year. Thank you for donating gifts or serving at the annual Cove Toy Store. Thank you for making gift baskets for families, giving bikes, and bringing paper to wrap gifts. Thank you for helping decorate your Cove campus or serving at weekend services. Thank you for caring for your neighbors and friends in Jesus’ Name and being bold to invite them to share in the joy of Christmas. It is beautiful to see how we come together to love others. I see us doing good around town, at our kids’ schools, and at our jobs. Doing good has become a part of December, even for those who don’t know Jesus.
REGULAR DOING GOOD IN DECEMBER
I was at a doctor’s appointment when an employee there (who has also become a friend) mentioned that she wanted to purchase a pre-lit, artificial Christmas tree. I happen to have one that I put out on our porch as décor but don’t really need. Our family loves a real tree, and we did get one for inside the house this year. I sent my friend a photo of the tree and she said it was perfect! It was a gift to me and now I’m glad she can use it. I don’t expect anything in return. However, would I have offered it to someone I consider an enemy? I can tell you I would not...unless God gave me His strength and motivation to do it. I surely would not feel like it.
Yet, God doesn’t call us to love like everyone else does in December. He calls us to love our enemies, do good, and lend, all while expecting nothing in return. Do I bring a plate of cookies to a difficult neighbor as well as to the kind one? Do I lend (or really give) money or things to people I don’t at least imagine as kind or needy? We are called to extravagant generosity, the kind that doesn’t make sense.
YOU WILL HAVE A GREAT REWARD
God knows my heart, in all of its ugliness and beauty. In His true understanding, He gives me motivation and strength by reminding me why I love, do good, and lend. It isn’t to get a warm feeling. We don’t do this in order to make December more festive. We don’t lend to get something in return because if we do, we will be disappointed.
The only One who will never disappoint is God. He knows that when we open our hands and hearts to give without reservation, we are becoming more like Him. He promises us a great reward and then tells us what that reward will be. We “will be sons of the Most High” (from Luke 6:35, ESV). The great reward is becoming family, like Jesus. We think the reward could be gold, or satisfaction, or something that starts out shiny but fades. God offers us a perfect family, a sibling (Jesus!), and a glimpse of heaven when we obey.
“BECAUSE HE IS KIND
...to the ungrateful and the evil.” That’s me. I used to think that my actions showed God’s kindness to my enemies who were UNGRATEFUL and EVIL. I knew I was part of the way that those people experienced God’s kindness. My generosity in loving enemies, my good deeds, and my lending and giving show God’s kindness!
Wrong. I am sometimes one of the ungrateful and evil ones, also. God, You already offer me the gift of eternal life because of what Jesus did. You are so kind. The great reward, the offer to make me a child of the Most High? That offer is a kind one. It is given to someone ungrateful and evil by nature: me.
Make It Personal: Take a moment to reflect in silence for 60 seconds (or longer if you are able) about God’s kindness to you. How can you love, do good, and lend or give, not just to poor or friendly people, but to enemies? Remember, His reward is a kind one offered to you even while you (like me) may remain ungrateful and evil.
Pray: Dear God, thank You so much for Your kindness to me. I know I have been ungrateful and evil, yet you rescued me and made me yours. Help me to use what I have to love others, even my enemies. Please provide the strength, motivation, and opportunity for me to do good, to love my enemies, and to give freely. In the strong Name of Jesus, Amen.
Read: Romans 5:8; Psalm 82:3-8; Psalm 145:17; Romans 2:4
Weekly Memory Verse: “Dear friends, let us continue to love one another, for love comes from God. Anyone who loves is a child of God and knows God. But anyone who does not love does not know God, for God is love.” 1 John 4:7-9 (NLT)