Christianity 401: Graduation, Part 2

We’ve spent the last several weeks diving deeply into Jesus’s relational commands, found mostly in Luke 6:27-38. Let’s conclude our “Graduate Level Christianity” series by revisiting the key take-aways from these important teachings, as they reflect something very precious to Jesus – the way we love one another. --- Followers of Jesus choose to give freely and generously whenever we can. Knowing our tithes and offerings expand God’s Kingdom on earth.   We treat others as we want to be treated, and we use this “Golden Rule” to inform our decisions in every area of our lives. We remember the law of reciprocity – we reap what we sow.  We imitate our heavenly Father in every opportunity He gives us. We freely give mercy. We step forward with grace. We keep our eyes fixed on the One whose great love gift – Jesus – set the standard for how we should conduct ourselves at all times, in all situations, with all people. No matter what. Because we know the great debt Jesus paid for us, we freely and frequently offer forgiveness to others. Whether they deserve it or not. We want to forgive others, knowing we honor Him when we do so.  We let God be God. We don’t judge. We don’t mock. We don’t condemn. We don’t seek vengeance or retaliation. We stop and remember that how we forgive others is how God will forgive us. We recognize that we are not judges. Or juries. Or executioners. We steadfastly choose to forego retaliation and vengeance. We simply open our hands, and release our offenders to the Lord. And when we do so, our open hands are then able to receive God’s great blessings for us. When followers of Jesus make it our life’s mission to bring glory to God, we will honor Him with everything we say, and everything we do. And we will hear the voice of the Father saying, “Well done.”