“But I say to you who listen: Love your enemies, do what is good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you…

Here in Luke 6 is Luke’s rendering of the beatitudes. I like the CSB translation here. Many translations say “hearing” but this is not passive, “I heard that” but it is akouousin = hear, listen to… but it’s in the present ACTIVE tense and is a “participle”.

That means it’s a “verbal adjective”… it describes what you are doing, not what you are. It describes the verb not the noun. You DO it, but you are ONE WHO Does it. The NLT renders it “willing to listen”

So, like a parent that says, “are you listening?” Jesus says, “I know you can hear, but if you actively listen, you will be doing something WITH what you hear.

Do What Lord? look at vv27+ and tell me what

• Love your Enemies
• Bless those who curse you
• Give to those who ask
• Do as you would like done to you
• Go outside the Easy (anyone can do for those do do for you)
• Love your Enemies, do what is good, lend, expecting nothing in return…

v35 Then Your Reward will be great and you will be CHILDREN of the Most High for he is gracious to the ungrateful and evil. 36 be merciful, just as your Father also is merciful…

Are we living up to the Family Way? Are we following our spiritual genotype?

It’s sort of what John says in 1 John 3… if you do not love, how can the love of God be in you. If we have his blood, we should follow his nature.

Then Jesus continues v37

• do not judge, do not condemn, forgive, give and it will be given…

all of those are acts of Gracious Giving… so whether those are actions or are fiscal monetary acts…

• give and it will be given… a good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over… it will be poured into your lap

You can’t outgive God… But you can hinder him from giving… with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you…

Love, Doing, Lending – all expecting nothing back…

THEN – back there in v 35 THEN… it’s Conditional then your reward will be great…

It is THEN that we show the Family Resemblance. I’m not saying that any lending expecting a return, a payback, is wrong or out of place, but we are talking here about the purpose behind it when God leads us to it.

antimetreo — anti=against that… against what we do, is the measure that is given back to us… hold it up and see…

To Those Who Listened… Jesus made some great promises…

Francis of Assisi said, “They are truly peacemakers who, amidst all they suffer in this world, maintain peace in soul and body, for the love of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Let’s seek to Imitate the Father, children.