Shane Ash

Today I am trying to live out the messages from our Live It Out series. Over the last three weeks one of the prevailing thoughts we have tried to communicate is the picture of complete, selfless surrender to the role of servant. It is more than just volunteering to serve, more than donating an hour of our time…it is an attitude that says, “others are more important than me.”

Today, as I prepare for next Sunday, God is taking us even deeper…

Check out what Luke 6:27-36 says about living out the ways of Christ.

Here is a simple rule of thumb for behavior: Ask yourself what you want people to do for you; then grab the initiative and do it for them! If you only love the lovable, do you expect a pat on the back? Run-of-the-mill sinners do that. If you only help those who help you, do you expect a medal? Garden-variety sinners do that. If you only give for what you hope to get out of it, do you think that’s charity? The stingiest of pawnbrokers does that.

I tell you, love your enemies. Help and give without expecting a return. You’ll never—I promise—regret it. Live out this God-created identity the way our Father lives toward us, generously and graciously, even when we’re at our worst. Our Father is kind; you be kind. – The Message

Here is what I am learning so far from this passage:

• don’t just tolerate it when people take advantage of you…seek to be taken advantage of…that way you can bless them in a way that they could never deserve.
• if God treated us like we treat others…
• it is hard to help and give without expecting something in return…but it’s worth it.
• we are asked to go further than “natural generosity”…we are to live out the generosity of Christ.