The Other Cheek

And a very good morning to you. It is Wednesday morning, 22nd of December, the year 2021 and this is your friend, Angus Buchan with a thought for today.

“You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’ But I tell you not to resist an evil person. But whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also.”

Mathew 5:38

Very, very, powerful words! The Lord wants us, this Christmas time, to go the extra mile. When all our loved ones are together, the Lord wants us to walk the talk. We need to love one another.

You know, the Khoisan Bushmen from the Kalahari Desert called the Baobab tree, the upside-down tree because in winter the Baobab sheds all its leaves and it looks like its roots are in the air with the head of the tree under the ground. I’ve often heard people talk about the gospel being the upside-down gospel... In the world, they’ll say: "An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth". "You’ve got to get stuck in there and whatever he gives you, you give him twice as much back", but that’s not what Jesus did. You and I are different to the world.

You see, it’s very easy to love those who love us but it’s not so easy to love those who hate us. It’s very easy, also to rationalise our prejudices.

"Ja, but how can I love that man? Look what he did to me!" or
"How can I love that woman? Look what she did to me!"
"How can I love my brother? Look how he stabbed me in the back."

Jesus cuts through all this kind of thinking to the extent of even saying, we are to pray for our enemies. Remember - Jesus washed Judas Iscariot’s feet just before he went out and betrayed the Master for 30 pieces of silver. Now, it is impossible to do this without the help of the Holy Spirit. You see folks, we have to forgive for our own sakes, actually. If we don’t, that bitterness, that anger, that hurt, that unforgiveness, will eventually poison our whole system and consume us. Jesus, when He was dying on the cross (He was an innocent man by the way), said to His Father:

“Father, forgive them for they do not know what they are doing.”
Luke 23:34

Let us go out today and demonstrate the love of Christ by forgiving one another.
God bless you and have a wonderful day.