An Appointment with Christ: a Life of Grace (Luke 6:27), Part 5

On this occasion, we want to bring things to a temporary conclusion, because in reality this study that we have been carrying out concerning grace and the attitude of grace is so profound that it could take us many more programs. In the interest of continuing with other topics, in this message we are simply going to conclude one part of this profound study concerning grace and how we ought to be people who express God’s grace toward our fellow human beings.

We have been meditating on Chapter 6 of the Gospel according to Saint Luke, especially verses 27 and following. We have spoken about this attitude of kindness, mercy, love, benevolence, patience, tolerance, and goodwill toward others that Christ calls us to embody, to incorporate into our lives.

The Lord’s words have sounded in our ears time and again: “... love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, and pray for those who slander you.” In truth, there is no more profound way to address this subject, because the fact is that these words shock our understanding when we receive them; they resonate almost violently against our carnal, merely human sensibilities. The concept of loving our enemies is truly scandalous. And it makes me think of something else that is also scandalous in the Bible, and that is the cross.

The Bible says that the cross is a scandal, a cause of offense, and often a stumbling block for those who seek to enter into the Gospel. People often cannot understand that God became man and allowed Himself to be crucified. In one of his letters, the Apostle Paul speaks about how, for the Jews, the fact that Christ died on a cross represented something they could not understand, because the Jews could not understand a God, a Messiah, who was, in a sense, defeated on a cross. They expected a military Messiah, mounted on a spirited white horse, who was coming to free the Jewish people from the Romans who oppressed them. But the Lord came riding on a colt, on a humble donkey, speaking about loving one’s enemies. And the Jews, a proud race who expected a liberating Messiah, could not understand this humble teacher who identified with the poor, sinners, and those rejected by the respectable and respected people of the time.

Nevertheless, that was God; it was God made man, preparing to die on a cross, to die for our sins. And the Hebrews could not understand this, nor could the Greeks of Paul’s time understand it. For the Greeks loved reason and logic, and to them it was a paradox, a contradiction, that Almighty God should die on a cross. How can an almighty God allow Himself to be crucified by His creatures? How can a king die like the vilest of offenders? The Greeks could not understand God’s logic either. That is why Paul said that the foolishness of God is wiser than the wisdom of men. That is why Paul said that spiritual things must be understood spiritually, because the natural, logical mind cannot understand them.

That is how the cross is, brothers and sisters. The cross is scandalous. The cross offends reason; it offends the way most of us conceive that human relationships ought to be. Nevertheless, through this gracious conduct, the Lord Jesus Christ asks us also to embrace the conduct of the cross, to place the cross upon our own shoulders and carry it as Christ carried it.

That is why the Lord Jesus Christ says: “... carry my cross every day; let each one take up his cross every day and follow me.” To be true servants of Christ, we must take up our portion of the cross. We must live as Christ lived. The Lord inconvenienced Himself. The Lord did not live for Himself; the Lord lived for others.

That is terrible, but it is the truth, and the wonderful thing is that when we embrace the cross, the cross blesses us, opens doors for us, and sets us free in wonderful ways. The person who chooses to live according to the principle of the cross and of grace becomes a spiritual giant, an extremely powerful person. This is contrary to what people think—that if we live according to the principle of grace, we will be abused, trampled on, and mistreated, and will become victims continually oppressed by others who take advantage of our gentleness and patience. Quite the opposite: when we undertake this kind of conduct and do so in the name of Jesus and in obedience to Christ’s call in His Word, we become extremely powerful people.

It is important to remember that the Bible says that the same mind that was in Christ Jesus should be in us. Though He was equal with God, He did not regard equality with God as something to cling to, but gave Himself, surrendered Himself to a humble life, died a violent death, and did all these things out of mercy and grace. And that passage adds that for this reason God raised Him from the dead and gave Him a name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow—of those in heaven, on earth, and beneath the earth.

Let us note that dynamic: the Lord humbled Himself, the Lord gave Himself, the Lord adopted a posture of grace toward humanity. In obedience, He descended and stripped Himself of His glory in order to give Himself for us. And the Bible says that precisely because He adopted that posture of grace, God raised Him from the dead and gave Him a name more sublime, nobler, more powerful, and more royal than any other name in the universe. And at the name of Jesus, precisely because He humbled Himself, every knee of all that exists on earth, beneath the earth, and in heaven will have to bow.

Why? Because the Lord humbled Himself. And the dynamic of the Gospel is that whoever humbles himself will be exalted, will be lifted up. Now, whoever exalts himself, becomes filled with pride, and always tries to preserve himself and maintain his glory and power will be humbled. In the Christian life, the more you humble yourself and serve others, the more blessed you are.

That is the key to mental health. I believe it is living according to this teaching of Jesus Christ. If you want to be a person who is truly healthy emotionally and mentally, adopt that attitude of grace toward others: bless people, help others, give yourself to others, accommodate yourself to others, bless those who do not deserve to be blessed, and be patient with those who irritate us. If you adopt that attitude, if we adopt that attitude, we will discover that we are going to be happier people. The unhappiest people in the world are the most selfish people: those who are always seeking their own advantage, those who make life difficult for others by criticizing them, judging them, making demands of them, and putting them down.

Many of us believe that if we push others down, we will end up higher. But it is quite the opposite. When we beat others down and push them downward, we too are dragged down with them and lower ourselves, and then we feel bad inside; we feel guilty.

I believe that much of the depression in life, the anxieties, low self-esteem, sense of guilt, negativity toward life, fears, and phobias that characterize the modern world arise precisely because many people are not living according to this principle. Selfish people generally end up losing. When we try to hoard and obtain more for ourselves and live at the expense of others, what we do is cause our wealth and gains to turn into sand, into water that slips through our fingers.

Now, when you decide to live in a posture of love, mercy, and grace toward others—to give to the one who does not deserve it, to the one who cannot repay what you gave him, to be generous with your possessions, and to be patient with others—you then discover that it is a wonderful principle by which to live. Besides making you like God, you take on God’s wonderful nature and become like your heavenly Father. And then, when you entrust your cause to God and do not always try to defend your rights and interests, God becomes your defender, your support, your helper. There is nothing more beautiful than living as God does, because then you will be like God and will have the power of God.

Be like Christ, who became poor, and then God enriched Him to the utmost. If you decide to live according to the principles of grace, you will be a tremendously powerful and tremendously happy person.

Christ offers you the path to happiness today. Forget about being happy and simply live to make others happy, and happiness will come into your hands without any effort, without your having to distort or twist yourself. What a wonderful principle! I hope it will be a blessing to your life. The principle of grace. Let us learn to live according to that principle of grace, and we will be truly happy people. May God bless you, and may the Christ of grace become your Lord, your Savior. Open your heart to Him right now and say to Him: Lord, come into my life; I want to be like You, I want to live like You. I give You my whole being, my whole life. Receive Him now and begin to live like the Master. May God richly bless you.