GOD’S WORD FOR YOU
LUKE 6:30
30 Give to everyone who asks you, and if anyone takes away your things, do not demand them back.
In verse 29, Jesus encouraged us to take a blow and endure robbery with forbearance. Now he encourages us along different lines: Give to anyone and everyone who asks. “Give” in this case is a present tense imperative: “Be giving.” Don’t hold back, and if possible, we should even anticipate a request (but that doesn’t mean that we need to give before we’re asked—behavior like that can damage the other person’s self-esteem).
As hard as it may seem, Jesus is protecting our own souls with this command. After all, does it harm my soul more if I let something borrowed vanish forever, or if I keep insisting that I get it back? At what point have I become selfish? Now—if the one who borrowed is wealthy, and I am rather poor, is it all right to ask for something back again? That’s a matter for my conscience.
What we must remember is that Jesus isn’t telling us to blindly and lamely submit to every evil that befalls us. If I think I’m being loving by saying nothing to someone who is persecuting me, but by doing so I am enabling that person to compound sin upon sin, then I’m not being truly loving, and I should say something to my persecutor. Lenski says: “Christ never told me to not to restrain the murderer’s hand, not to check the thief and robber, not to oppose the tyranny, or to foster shiftlessness, dishonesty, and greed by my gifts” (Luke p. 365).
Be generous. But most of all, be generous with the word of God. Share it, spread it, teach it to your children, remind yourself and your spouse. If you’re blessed with a skill, offer to use it for the kingdom of God. If you’re blessed with time but don’t think you have any particular talents, ask anyway. And if all you have is time to pray, then pray. Pray for the success of the word. Pray for the faithfulness of your pastor. Pray for the souls of the people you love—and your enemies, too.
In Christ,
Pastor Timothy Smith
Archives by Wisconsin Lutheran Chapel: http://www.wlchapel.org/worship/daily-devotion/
Pastor Smith serves St. Paul’s Lutheran Church, New Ulm, Minnesota