The way you give to others is the way God will give to you!

Luke 6:27-38

“I say to you who are listening to me, love your enemies. Do good to those who hate you. Ask God to bless those who say bad things to you. Pray for those who are cruel to you. If anyone slaps you on one cheek, let him slap the other cheek too. If someone takes your coat, do not stop him from taking your shirt. Give to everyone who asks you. When a person takes something that is yours, don’t ask for it back. Do for other people what you want them to do for you. If you love only those who love you, should you get some special praise for doing that? No! Even sinners love the people who love them! If you do good only to those who do good to you, should you get some special praise for doing that? No! Even sinners do that! If you lend things to people, always hoping to get something back, should you get some special praise for that? No! Even sinners lend to other sinners so that they can get back the same amount! So love your enemies. Do good to them, and lend to them without hoping to get anything back. If you do these things, you will have a great reward. You will be sons of the Most High God. Yes, because God is kind even to people who are ungrateful and full of sin. Show mercy just as your father shows mercy. “Don’t judge other people, and you will not be judged. Don’t accuse others of being guilty, and you will not be accused of being guilty. Forgive other people, and you will be forgiven. Give, and you will receive. You will be given much. It will be poured into your hands—more than you can hold. You will be given so much that it will spill into your lap. The way you give to others is the way God will give to you.”

Food for thought?

As he carried out the work his Father gave him to do on earth, Jesus faced challenges after challenges and enemies after enemies. Indeed, he was challenged throughout his entire life; he had enemies from the womb to the tomb. Immediately after birth, the Bible tells us, Jesus' first enemy showed up: "An angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, 'Get up! Take the Child and His mother and flee to Egypt, and remain there until I tell you; for Herod is going to search for the Child to destroy Him.' So Joseph got up and took the Child and His mother while it was still night, and left for Egypt. He remained there until the death of Herod." (Matthew 2:13-20). Herod was Jesus' first enemy.

After Herod, it was the religious leaders, in their different categories. They always followed him wherever he went and whatever he did. Surprisingly, Jesus did not destroy them; he let the enemy live near him and near his friends. In fact, he even taught us a parable in this regard. It is in Matthew 13:24. 13:24-30.36-43.

Today, Jesus tells us what to do when we have enemies. Yes, Jesus knows that we have enemies, we have people that hate us; people who do all they can to destroy us. All our enemies operate under one principle: spread as much fear and terror as they can. All terrorism is about fear; and all terrorists have one goal, spread fear. Their success is in proportion to the fear they cause. The more fear or terror they cause the happier they become. But as Ronald Reagan said "Evil is powerless if the Good are unafraid."

Our enemies are a distraction. They want to distract us from the good that we are doing and focus on them instead. They want to replace themselves for the good that we are doing. That is why we always keep those we are afraid of in our mind. If you are fearful of something you will all the time think of nothing but that thing. If it is a person, you will keep that person in mind all the time. And when this happen, the enemy sings victory.

In other words, the best way to fight our enemies is to focus on the Lord and not on them. Don't focus on how great your fear or enemy is, but focus on how great your God is. And the best way of doing this is, as today's gospel put it: “Ask God to bless those who say bad things to you. Pray for those who are cruel to you.” In other words, talk to God about your enemies; don't talk to your enemies; talk to God instead. As Robert Morgan puts it, “we always make a mistake when we acknowledge the Lord and keep our eyes on Satan. Far better to acknowledge the devil while keeping our eyes on Christ.” Don’t allow the enemy to take the place of God; reserve your attention for God. As Joyce Meyer puts it, “All of us must learn how not to 'fear the fear.' The devil brings fear, but you can choose not to bow your knee to it.”

1. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. (James 4: 7– 8);
2. Resist the devil, be steadfast in the faith. (1 Peter 5: 9)