Love All - Even if it Seems Wrong

Yellow Wild Flowers

Matthew 5:38-42

Ye have heard that it hath been said, An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth:

But I say unto you, That ye resist not evil: but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also.

And if any man will sue thee at the law, and take away thy coat, let him have thy cloak also.

And whosoever shall compel thee to go a mile, go with him twain.

Give to him that asketh thee, and from him that would borrow of thee turn not thou away.

God loves justice.  God also loves, and gives, mercy to all.   God is just and will solve all issues of fairness.  He has said the “last shall be first,” and, “the crooked shall be straight.”  Be he has also told us “Vengeance is mine.”  He is just.  He can be just since he knows all and knows the beginning from the end. We barely know a tiny fraction of the middle, and what we do know of that middle is all out of whack.  We sometimes feel like we know a lot and understand other people, but we do not and we cannot truly know them or their full story.  Leave that up to the Lord. You can trust him.

The Lord has asked us to act differently, and forgive. He has asked us not to fight back. An eye for an eye may be in the law, but we are not legal judges in this life and do not have that perspective.  He has asked us to give more even to those who have harmed us. This is not easy in our modern world, but I’m also sure it has never been easy.  If we are used, or taken advantage of, the Lord tells us to turn the other cheek and even help that person who has used us. We should of course never stay in a harmful or dangerous position or place, we should leave or get to safety. Even so, the Lord is telling us to leave the justice and the anger and the blame to him. We should forgive, always. The Lord will ensure justice and mercy balance out, but for us, we are told to love and to serve and give of ourselves to all. Even our enemies, or that person we just can’t stand. Yes, even that person who has crazy political views. Even the person who is walking too slow in front of us. Everyone.