SCRIPTURE: Luke 6
OBSERVATION/APPLICATION:
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. [Luke 6:35] Jesus exposes ‘religion’ (as seen in what the religious leaders did with the Sabbath) as a heartless focus on self and God, expressed through ritual and ceremony that makes bad people feel better about themselves. It has nothing to do with loving and helping others, its just about doing what we need to do to save ourselves. What religious actions, what rules must I observe to get right with God? This may sound harsh, but look at the track record of both the OT Jews and the NT church? More concerned about following rules than loving people.

Jesus shows that the heartbeat of God, what He desires from us, is love and mercy for all, even enemies. He teaches His disciples to imitate Him and the Father by expressing radical mercy and love. He demonstrates that Sabbath is not a rule to be observed, but an blessing to be shared. If God is kind to the ungrateful and the wicked, why aren’t we? Why do you call me, `Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I say? [Luke 6:46] This is what sets us apart as Jesus-followers, how the world knows that we are His disciples – by the overflow of love among us [John 13:35]. Paul makes it clear that this kind of love trumps all other religious activity. If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing. [1 Corinthians 13:1-3]

Jesus came to start a movement of Jesus-followers known primarily for love (compassion, generosity, patience, kindness, etc.) Is this how the people across the street know me? Is this the reputation we have as a church? Look carefully at what He teaches His followers [Luke 6:27-38]. Those who demonstrate this fruit show that they are His followers, they are building their lives on a solid rock. God did not send Jesus to start a religion, not even to form the ‘church’. He came to save, then to send – a people on the move, a movement of love and compassion, a people committed to living in this world as if it were God’s world, according to God’s priorities and virtues. A people who are known for love!

PRAYER:
Lord, forgive us for twisting Your way into a religion, for turning Your movement into a church. Help us become a people who love, like You!