Matthew 5: 43"You have heard that it was said, 'Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.' 44But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 45: That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.
The Father is consistent in His world creation. The environment, the rules, the principles, the laws, and whatever else happens is the same for good and evil, just and unjust. What goes up comes down (gravity). What goes down comes up (seedtime and harvest). The wages of sin is death. When it rains, everybody gets wet. There are certain principles that affect us all. Acting like Him means being the same with those around us whether we like them and their lifestyle or not. Sin does not invalidate principles; it invokes them. Think about it.
It was a blessing recently to visit a great new coffee shop. Set in the middle of the red-light district of our metro, along with coffee the proprietors offer a listening ear and hope for a better future. The place has become an oasis in a hard community of drugs, sex offense, violence, and negativity. On this particular day, the shop was full of pastors and ministers wanting to connect with each other and some new ideas of reaching other people. In the middle of “the event” a woman from the community wandered in looking for a little heat and respite. With a lost look, she was wandering and looking for a place to sit. A friend and I were on a coach back in the corner, this young woman and my eyes connected as we scooched down a little to create a place on the couch. A few minutes later, the host of the event asked everyone to link hands for prayer. The woman pulled her hands back up into her overly long coat and slumped a little in the shoulders as she was clearly out of her normal element. I reached over and put my arm on the back of her coat. It was sticky and maybe had been her only comfort on many nights in some hard places. Through the prayer, I found myself thinking how different this lunchtime moment was. On the woman’s right was the only black couple in the room of Caucasian ministers. On her left was me, the only businessman in a suit with a tie on. Next to me was the only Latina in this sea of compassion. It did not strike me until some hours later that our little corner was the “diversity” corner of a packed room. I am thankful for that moment. I am thankful I got to be there and hear the stories and pray and meet V., who sat and stood next to me. She blessed me by her strength to be able to press into such a different group of people and find a spot on a couch.
ACT! Is there someone you are treating rudely because they have a lifestyle different than yours? Do you hold at arm’s length a homosexual but not a gossiper? Think about it, and make sure you are like your Father.
PRAY! Consistent Father, You treat us all the same. You are the same yesterday, today, and forever. The principles of life and death rule over me as much as anyone who hates you. Thank you for offering that to me when I was outside of Your family. Help me offer even ground to others that they might see Your goodness and enter also alongside me and Jesus.
Phil Larson, 508 Tumbleweed Dr., Yukon, Oklahoma 73099 405-388-8037
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