Week 37 Luke
A couple of things are going on when I’m reading through.
For one, I’m reading so I get to Revelation 22 by New Year’s Eve.
For two, I’m reading to try to make sense of what I read.
Reading through is a reading-and-sense-making project.
Anyway I was reading one of the Lord’s public sermons in Luke and he said something about God that was really pretty definite, pretty explicit, pretty precise, pretty clear. He said that God: is kind to the unthankful and to those who are wicked.
I’ve spent the last eight months reading through and haven’t always come away with the idea that God is kind to unthankful and wicked people. I’m pretty sure I could page back for an example where it looks like God isn’t all that kind to unthankful and wicked people. So Luke 6 is a good reminder that reading through – besides just reading through – also has a jigsaw-puzzling-my-way-through element to it. And God-is-kind is one of the pieces.
My profile of God can’t exclude it.
Note: quotes from Luke 6:35 (NLT).
This piece of the puzzle about God being kind isn’t even the Lord’s point. His main point is his rule-for-disciples: Love your enemies! Do good to them! Lend to them!
The Lord knows I’ll wonder why I can’t hate my enemies, and his reason – a kind of footnote – is that God doesn’t. He’s kind.