No Condemnation - A Reflection on Luke 6:27-38


 But I say to you that listen, Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you. If anyone strikes you on the cheek, offer the other also; and from anyone who takes away your coat do not withhold even your shirt. Give to everyone who begs from you; and if anyone takes away your goods, do not ask for them again. Do to others as you would have them do to you.      
                                                                     
“If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. If you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners do the same. If you lend to those from whom you hope to receive, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, to receive as much again. But love your enemies, do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return. Your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High; for he is kind to the ungrateful and the wicked. Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.“Do not judge, and you will not be judged; do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven; give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap; for the measure you give will be the measure you get back.”

 “Give and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap; for the measure you give will be the measure you get back.” We normally hear this just before the collection box is passed around don’t we, but as we can see, the context of the verse is actually mercy and forgiveness. Jesus is saying that the more mercy and forgiveness we extend towards others, the more mercy and forgiveness we will receive ourselves. 

 

And we need it, don’t we? People do wrong things sometimes. Some people do wrong things often. These things may not be out of malice, but out of human weakness. An alcoholic, for instance, bonded by years of habit may not be able to resist the lure of the bottle, and consequently do stupid things. A mentally ill person may not be able to act in the manner that a normal person would, and might do things that most of us wouldn’t. A very lonely person depressed to the point of being suicidal might reach out to someone he is not entitled to for comfort. Very often, we cannot see beyond the act. But God does.

 

I have done many things I shouldn’t have done when I didn’t know Christ. But even after coming to know him I have done things I know I shouldn’t, with far less excuse. Like Paul, I cry out: “What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body that is subject to death?” But then Paul has the answer, as we all do. “Thanks be to God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord! There is therefore no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” (see Romans 7:14:-8:39).

 

There is no condemnation for those of us who are in Jesus Christ. What does this mean? To be "in Christ Jesus" means that when it comes to divine judgment, we do not stand before God alone, but with the righteousness of Christ. We have received this righteousness from God that comes by faith. (See Romans 1:17) So, in Christ, our sins have been forgiven and there is no condemnation. Now I just want you to think about this for a moment.

 

There is only one person who has the right to judge us and that is God. If God, who has the right to judge, chooses to show us mercy, how can we who are so desperately in need of this mercy, judge others? I want us to seriously think about this today, because we often go about condemning others, which we should be forgiving. A thief was condemned by people like us, but at the very last moment dying next to Jesus on the cross, he repented. And what do you think Jesus did?

 

So let us forgive. And we will be forgiven. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be poured out into our laps. For the measure we give will be the measure we get back!

 

Watch a video of this reflection by Aneel Aranha here:  https://youtu.be/KgsJ9IbU23c

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Let’s Get Healed - A Reflection on Matthew 18:21-19:1

Image
  Then Peter came and said to him, “Lord, if another member of the church sins against me, how often should I forgive? As many as seven times?” Jesus said to him, “Not seven times, but, I tell you, seventy-seven times. “For this reason the kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who wished to settle accounts with his slaves. When he began the reckoning, one who owed him ten thousand talents was brought to him; and, as he could not pay, his lord ordered him to be sold, together with his wife and children and all his possessions, and payment to be made. So the slave fell on his knees before him, saying, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you everything.’ And out of pity for him, the lord of that slave released him and forgave him the debt. But that same slave, as he went out, came upon one of his fellow slaves who owed him a hundred denarii; and seizing him by the throat, he said, ‘Pay what you owe.’ Then his fellow slave fell down and pleaded with him, ‘Have patience with me, an
Read more

Patience - A Reflection on Luke 2:33-35.

Image
  And the child’s father and mother were amazed at what was being said about him. Then Simeon blessed them and said to his mother Mary, “This child is destined for the falling and the rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be opposed so that the inner thoughts of many will be revealed—and a sword will pierce your own soul too.”   This is probably the shortest passage that we have reflected upon this year. In it, we find a man named Simeon making a prophecy about three things. One, about Jesus. Two, about the people of Israel. And three, about the pain that Jesus’ mother Mary would go through. We have seen all his prophecies came true. But who is Simeon? And what can we learn from him? Ok. On the 40th day of his birth, Jesus is taken by Mary and Joseph to the temple to be officially inducted into the Jewish faith. When they were there, a man named Simeon came in to see them.   He is described as “righteous and devout, looking forward to the consolation of Israel, and the H
Read more

What’s In It For Me? - A Reflection on Matthew 19:23-30

Image
Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Truly I tell you, it will be hard for a rich person to enter the kingdom of heaven. Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.” When the disciples heard this, they were greatly astounded and said, “Then who can be saved?” But Jesus looked at them and said, “For mortals it is impossible, but for God all things are possible.” Then Peter said in reply, “Look, we have left everything and followed you. What then will we have?” Jesus said to them, “Truly I tell you, at the renewal of all things, when the Son of Man is seated on the throne of his glory, you who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or fields, for my name’s sake, will receive a hundredfold, and will inherit eternal life. But many who are first will be last, and the la
Read more