Thursday, 2 August 2018

Those who can't repay


Then said he also to him that bade him, When thou makest a dinner or a supper, call not thy friends, nor thy brethren, neither thy kinsmen, nor thy rich neighbours; lest they also bid thee again, and a recompence be made thee. But when thou makest a feast, call the poor, the maimed, the lame, the blind: And thou shalt be blessed; for they cannot recompense thee: for thou shalt be recompensed at the resurrection of the just. – Luke 14.12-14

We all have a real problem – we all like to look after ourselves and we all like to do things that benefit us. It just makes sense because we really like us a lot. In this passage Jesus talks about doing things for other, like inviting them to dinner. He points out that it is easy to do that for those who might invite us make to dinner at their house.

It is easy to do things for others who can do for us. There is no cost involved because we are going to get paid back. It is like where Jesus talked about love and said that anybody can love those who love back. The test is loving those who are not going to love us in response.

The answer is for us to do good for those who have no chance of doing good for us. He says to do good for the poor and the maimed and the lame and the blind who really need our help and could never, ever do anything for us.

I think Jesus uses this because it is a picture of what He does for us. He came and gave His life for those who really can’t pay Him back. The Christian life is never about doing what is best for us – it is all about Christ and all about others.

Look for a chance today to help someone who could never do anything for you.

No comments: