Whether it is on the scale of a rice farmer voluntarily watering the field of a neighbor who had been draining his paddy field or a civil rights worker expressing love to the one who had fire bombed his house, every act of non-retaliating love is extraordinary.
Every time a Christian follows the way of Christ outlined in Matthew 5:38-41, the world witnesses a great miracle.
It’s the miracle of a woman who has found a treasure so valuable in Jesus, that her own life means nothing to her in comparison.
It’s the act of a man who has found a way of life so victorious that even when he is insulted, abused, taken advantage of or publicly humiliated – he is somehow the one on top.
It is the revelation of a love that transcends and redefines everything in our human existence.
If you ask me, the gracious love of Christ in the face of evil is the greatest of all miracles.
This teaching of Jesus is not an invitation to weakness, but to limitless, irrepressible victory.
Let’s take that invitation and let the world see something glorious.
Let’s resist the impulse to retaliate.
Let’s joyfully give love in the face of hatred.
Let’s go the extra mile.
And let’s trust God with the results.
Tom Brown is the planting pastor of Vintage Faith Church in Wichita. Tom and his wife, Mandy, have worked together in ministry for 18 years and have four children. More about Pastor Tom Brown