Ya'll Ready for This?

I've been sitting with this passage the past day or so...rather, it's been following me around. Does that ever happen to you? Well, anyway, here it is: (from the Message translation)

"To you who are ready for the truth, I say this: Love your enemies. Let them bring out the best in you, not the worst. When someone gives you a hard time, respond with the energies of prayer for that person. If someone slaps you in the face, stand there and take it. If someone grabs your shirt, giftwrap your best coat and make a present of it. If someone takes unfair advantage of you, use the occasion to practice the servant life. No more tit-for-tat stuff. Live generously." Luke 6:27-30

I get barely a verse in and have to stop - "Love your enemies. Let them bring out the best in you, not the worst." Think about that for a minute. Imagine if that were true of you today...no matter what evil or difficulty you faced, it brought out the best in you. That seems like an extraordinary thing until I start thinking about how I deal with the non-enemies in my life - friends, family, or even casual acquaintances. My mind immediately goes into "Dad-mode" here, I think of the last few times when my kids have been fighting or whining or complaining. That doesn't bring out the best in me. Or I think of driving around Austin in traffic. That doesn't bring out the best in me. Or those times deeper down in my heart, when I'm anxious about money, or buying a new car, or some health concern. Those doesn't bring out the best in me either.

So I go back to the passage and I read some more. Now I'm just getting annoyed. When someone bugs you, respond with prayer. When they hurt you, turn the other cheek. When they take advantage of you, practice service. What in the world is this? This goes totally against a basic principle that I have lived my life by since before I can remember: FAIRNESS. If someone hurts me, there's supposed to be an authority that swoops in makes it right. When I'm treated unfairly the whole world should know and that person should be shamed into making it right with me. When an enemy lines up against me, it's my duty to take them out. From pre-school to the football field to the workplace. It's me against you, or him, or her. Whoever...it's me against somebody.

This passage completely blows that up. And not just a little bit. It smashes it; it obliterates it. The only thing left standing is my selfishness and pride...it begs the question that Jesus starts with: Are you ready for the truth? Well, here's the truth for me - I've spent most of the last 25 yrs of my life following Jesus, trying to at least, and yesterday the answer to this question, if I'm really honest, is no. I don't know if I'm ready for the truth if that's the truth. I want to be ready; in my head I know that's the best way to live. In fact, if you read verse 35, Jesus says that very thing: "I tell you, love your enemies. Help and give without expecting a return. You'll never—I promise—regret it." The times in my life I've lived this way, I don't regret those times. In fact, those times are some of the sweetest, most nourishing times in my life. And yesterday my world got flipped upside down again, because somehow I've been lulled back into the game again. RACQUET!! I fell for it hook, line, and sinker. Life has become about me again - that's really not much of a life.

Lord, today I want the answer to be yes. I want to be ready for the truth. I want to live in such a way that no matter what I face, it would bring out the best in me. I want to parent my kids not out of selfishness or anger, but out of love, discipline, and grace. I want to treat my friends and family with grace and hope. I want to treat my enemies with peace and service, that your name would be glorified, and those who don't know You would be drawn close to You. Thank you Jesus, for the words of life, that today cut deep me deep to the core, and remind me of the hope that is only found in You. May your Spirit forgive me, heal me, and strengthen me to be the man you've created me to be.