May 3- Luke 6:26

THE VERSE

Woe to you, when all people speak well of you, for so their fathers did to the false prophets.
~Luke 6:26

THE THOUGHT

Consider for a moment the staggering implications of Jesus' condemnation here. "Woe to you when all people speak well of you?" What could He possibly mean? This runs so completely contradictory to our culture, our worldview, and our sinful self-centeredness that it takes us aback if we dare to take it seriously. We try our best in school and at work to fit in. Being well-liked by all is a goal we aspire to. We raise our children to be respectable members of society. And yet our Lord says, "Woe to you when all people speak well of you."

The reason is this: If we really took the Gospel seriously, if we really lived out all the implications of a Godward lifestyle that lets go of temporary happiness and security to further the cause of Christ, if we were more bold to share the word of life with a world condemned to die, then all people would NOT speak well of us. We would be admired by some, encouraged by others, but thought of as strange by the majority, hated by some, and persecuted by others. In John 15, Jesus explains this very truth: "If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you."

If the world loves its own, why do we try so hard to win the approval and affection of the world? We are not of this world! It is not respectable members of society who will win the nations for Christ. Rather, it is the counter-culture revolutionaries, those who are not ashamed of the gospel, who will love sacrificially and speak the truth boldly—these are ones whom God will use most powerfully to make His glory known.

THE PRAYER

Jesus, Help me to believe what You say, and to obey it. Help me not to live my life eager for the approval of others, but empower me to more fully live out the life that You have called me to, so that the world will know that You are the Savior. Help me to love radically, to serve without regard to myself, and to look more and more like You, my crucified, rejected, and risen Savior.

EXTENDED READING

Luke 6:20-31
John 15:18-25
Galatians 1:10-12

THE QUOTE

"Obedience is really not as burdensome as it seems at first blush. We are doing nothing more than falling head over heels in love with the everlasting Lover of our souls." ~Richard Foster