Day #1

But I say unto you which hear, Love your enemies, do good to them which hate you -- Luke 6:27.

While we were yet unloving and unlovely in character, "hateful, and hating one another," our heavenly Father had mercy on us. "After that the kindness and love of God our Saviour toward man appeared, not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us." Titus 3:3-5. His love received, will make us, in like manner, kind and tender, not merely toward those who please us, but to the most faulty and erring and sinful.

The children of God are those who are partakers of His nature. It is not earthly rank, nor birth, nor nationality, nor religious privilege, which proves that we are members of the family of God; it is love, a love that embraces all humanity. Even sinners whose hearts are not utterly closed to God's Spirit, will respond to kindness; while they may give hate for hate, they will also give love for love. But it is only the Spirit of God that gives love for hatred. To be kind to the unthankful and to the evil, to do good hoping for nothing again, is the insignia of the royalty of heaven, the sure token by which the children of the Highest reveal their high estate -- Thoughts from the Mount of Blessings, p. 75.

Day #2

Bless them that curse you, and pray for them which despitefully use you -- Luke 6:28.

You have so long cultivated a spirit of retaliation that you continually need the grace of God to soften and subdue your nature. The dear Saviour has said: "Bless them that curse you," "and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you."

Dear sister, I was shown that you bring darkness into your own soul by dwelling upon the mistakes and imperfections of others. You will never have their sins to answer for, but you have a work to do for your own soul and for your own family that no other can do for you. You need to crucify self and to check the disposition to magnify your neighbours' faults and to talk thoughtlessly. There are subjects upon which you may converse with the very best results. It is always safe to speak of Jesus, of the Christian's hope, and of the beauties of our faith. Let your tongue be sanctified to God, that your speech may be ever seasoned with grace. "Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things."

The apostle's exhortation should be explicitly followed. There is often a great temptation to talk of things which do not profit the speaker or the hearer, but which bring evil and barrenness to both. Our probationary time is too brief to be spent in dwelling upon the shortcomings of others. We have a work before us which requires the closest diligence and the strictest watchfulness, united with unceasing prayer, or we shall be unable to overcome the defects in our characters and to copy the divine Pattern. We should all study to imitate the life of Christ. Then we shall have a sanctifying influence upon those with whom we associate. It is a wonderful thing to be a Christian, truly Christlike, peaceable, pure, and undefiled. Dear sister, God must be with us in all our efforts, or they will avail nothing. Our good works will end in self-righteousness -- Testimonies for the Church, vol. 4, pp. 134,135.

Day #3

And unto him that smiteth thee on the one cheek offer also the other; and him that taketh away thy cloak forbid not to take thy coat also -- Luke 6:29.

The whole earthly life of Jesus was a manifestation of this principle. It was to bring the bread of life to His enemies that our Saviour left His home in heaven. Though calumny and persecution were heaped upon Him from the cradle to the grave, they called forth from Him only the expression of forgiving love. Through the prophet Isaiah He says," I gave My back to the smiters, and My cheeks to them that plucked off the hair: I hid not My face from shame and spitting." "He was oppressed, and He was afflicted, yet He opened not His mouth: He is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so He openeth not His mouth." Isaiah 50:6; 53:7. And from the cross of Calvary there come down through the ages His prayer for His murderers and the message of hope to the dying thief.

The Father's presence encircled Christ, and nothing befell Him but that which infinite love permitted for the blessing of the world. Here was His source of comfort, and it is for us. He who is imbued with the Spirit of Christ abides in Christ. The blow that is aimed at him falls upon the Saviour, who surrounds him with His presence. Whatever comes to him comes from Christ. He has no need to resist evil, for Christ is his defence. Nothing can touch him except by our Lord's permission, and "all things" that are permitted "work together for good to them that love God." Romans 8:28.

"If any man would go to law with thee, and take away thy coat [tunic], let him have thy cloak [mantle] also. And whosoever shall impress thee to go one mile, go with him twain." R.V., margin -- Thoughts from the Mount of Blessing, p. 71.

Day #4

Give to every man that asketh of thee; and of him that taketh away thy goods ask them not again -- Luke 6:30.

These are hard lessons to flesh and blood. But if we are thoroughly grounded in the faith of Christ's love, this will make his commands easy to us. Every one that comes to him for washing in his blood, and knows the greatness of the mercy and the love there is in him, can say, in truth and sincerity, Lord, what wilt thou have me to do? Let us then aim to be merciful, even according to the mercy of our heavenly Father to us -- Matthew Henry Concise Bible Commentary, [Luke 6:27:36].

The tense of the Greek verbs translated "give," "taketh away," and "ask" expresses repeated or habitual action. The admonition to "give to every man that asketh" does not mean to give him everything he asks for, nor does it require one to give something every time he is asked. As the verb form makes clear, and as the general tenor of the entire Sermon on the Mount makes evident, Christ means that giving should become habitual with us. Christ's admonition does not mean that a Christian is obliged to give indiscriminately, irrespective of need. He will, rather, have a generous spirit that is ready and glad to give--according to the need represented by the request and his own ability to meet that need. A Christian will, as a rule, respond favourably to requests that come to him for help. He will not, as is the custom of men with unregenerate hearts, be unwilling to give or refuse to give. He will be disposed to co-operate with others rather than to oppose them -- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary, [Luke 6:30].

Day #5

And as ye would that men should do to you, do ye also to them likewise -- Luke 6:31.

In your association with others, put yourself in their place. Enter into their feelings, their difficulties, their disappointments, their joys, and their sorrows. Identify yourself with them, and then do to them as, were you to exchange places with them, you would wish them to deal with you. This is the true rule of honesty. It is another expression of the law. "Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself." Matthew 22:39. And it is the substance of the teaching of the prophets. It is a principle of heaven, and will be developed in all who are fitted for its holy companionship.

The golden rule is the principle of true courtesy, and its truest illustration is seen in the life and character of Jesus. Oh, what rays of softness and beauty shone forth in the daily life of our Saviour! What sweetness flowed from His very presence! The same spirit will be revealed in His children. Those with whom Christ dwells will be surrounded with a divine atmosphere. Their white robes of purity will be fragrant with perfume from the garden of the Lord. Their faces will reflect light from His, brightening the path for stumbling and weary feet.

No man who has the true ideal of what constitutes a perfect character will fail to manifest the sympathy and tenderness of Christ. The influence of grace is to soften the heart, to refine and purify the feelings, giving a heaven-born delicacy and sense of propriety.

But there is a yet deeper significance to the golden rule. Everyone who has been made a steward of the manifold grace of God is called upon to impart to souls in ignorance and darkness, even as, were he in their place, he would desire them to impart to him. The apostle Paul said, "I am debtor both to the Greeks, and to the barbarians; both to the wise, and to the unwise." Romans 1:14. By all that you have known of the love of God, by all that you have received of the rich gifts of His grace above the most benighted and degraded soul upon the earth are you in debt to that soul to impart these gifts unto him.

So also with the gifts and blessings of this life: whatever you may possess above your fellows places you in debt, to that degree, to all who are less favoured. Have we wealth, or even the comforts of life, then we are under the most solemn obligation to care for the suffering sick, the widow, and the fatherless exactly as we would desire them to care for us were our condition and theirs to be reversed.

The golden rule teaches, by implication, the same truth which is taught elsewhere in the Sermon on the Mount, that "with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again." That which we do to others, whether it be good or evil, will surely react upon ourselves, in blessing or in cursing. Whatever we give, we shall receive again. The earthly blessings which we impart to others may be, and often are, repaid in kind. What we give does, in time of need, often come back to us in fourfold measure in the coin of the realm. But, besides this, all gifts are repaid, even in this life, in the fuller inflowing of His love, which is the sum of all heaven's glory and its treasure. And evil imparted also returns again. Everyone who has been free to condemn or discourage, will in his own experience be brought over the ground where he has caused others to pass; he will feel what they have suffered because of his want of sympathy and tenderness -- Thoughts from the Mount of Blessing, pp. 134-136.

Day #6

For if ye love them which love you, what thank have ye? for sinners also love those that love them -- Luke 6:32.

The way in which the Christian treats his fellow men is the acid test of the genuineness of his religion.

The golden rule summarises the obligations of the second table of the Decalogue, and is another statement of the great principle of loving our neighbour. Only those who make the golden rule their law of life and practice can expect admission to the kingdom of glory. Our attitude toward our fellow men is an infallible index of our attitude toward God.

Profound thinkers of other times and other cultures have discovered and stated the sublime truth expressed in the golden rule, generally, however, in a negative form. For example, to Hillel, most revered rabbi of the generation before Jesus, these words are credited: "'What is hateful to you, do not do to your neighbour; that is the whole Torah, while the rest is the commentary thereof'". The golden rule also appears in the Apocryphal book of Tobit (ch. 4:15): "Do that to no man which thou hatest," and in the Letter of Aristeas: "'Just as you do not wish evils to befall you, but to participate in all that is good, so you should deal with those subject to you and with offenders.'"

It is worthy of note that Jesus transformed a negative precept into a positive one. Herein lies the essential difference between Christianity and all false religious systems, and between true Christianity and that which consists in the form of religion but denies the vital power of the gospel. The golden rule takes supreme selfishness, what we would like others to do for us, and transforms it into supreme selflessness, what we are to do for others. This is the glory of Christianity. This is the life of Christ lived out in those who follow Him and bear His name -- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary, [Matthew 7:12].

Day #7

And if ye do good to them which do good to you, what thank have ye? for sinners also do even the same -- Luke 6:33.

It is the great duty of Christians to love their enemies. While we cannot have complacency (toward) one that is openly wicked and profane, nor put a confidence in one that we know to be deceitful, we must take notice of that even in our enemies which is commendable, and love that, though they are our enemies. We must have a compassion for them, and a goodwill toward them.

When we speak to them, we must answer their revilings with courteous and friendly words. Behind their backs, we must commend that which is commendable, and when we have said all the good we can of them, not say anything more.

It is no new thing for the most excellent saints to be hated, cursed persecuted and despitefully used, by wicked people. Christ himself was so treated. We have an opportunity of showing our conformity both to the precept and to the example of Christ, by praying for them who thus abuse us. We must pray that God will forgive them, that they may never fare the worse for anything they have done against us, and that He would make them to be at peace with us -- Matthew Henry Study Bible (KJV), p. 1795.

Kindness is the best vengeance that a Christian can take against an enemy. That heaping coals of fire on an opponent's head must mean an act of love rather than of malice is clearly indicated by both the OT and NT contexts. The passage in Prov. 25:22 closes with these words, not quoted here by Paul, "and the Lord shall reward thee," namely, for the good deeds done to your enemy. Similarly in the present context, the general meaning is summed up in the words, "Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good" (Rom. 12:21) -- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary, [Romans 12:20].

Day #8

And if ye lend to them of whom ye hope to receive, what thank have ye? for sinners also lend to sinners, to receive as much again -- Luke 6:34.

To love those that love us is nothing uncommon, nothing peculiar to Christ's disciples. There is nothing self-denying in that. What credit are you to the name of Christ, for sinners who know nothing of Christ and His doctrine do the same. But it becomes you to do something more excellent, to do that which sinners will not do and which no principle of theirs can pretend to reach to: you must render good for evil.

We must lend though we have reason to suspect that what we lend, we will lose, when we lend to those who are so poor, it is not probable they will be able to repay us. This precept will be best illustrated by the law of Moses (Deut 15:7-10), which obliges them to lend to a poor brother as much as he needed, though the year of release was at hand. Here are two motives for this generous charity:

1. What is given, or laid out, or lent and lost on earth, from a true principle of charity, will be made up to us in [heaven], unspeakably to our advantage. You shall not only be repaid, but rewarded, greatly rewarded; it will be said to you, "Come ye, my blessed, inherit the kingdom."

2. It will redound to our honour; for herein we shall resemble God in His goodness, which is the greatest glory: "Ye shall be the children of the Highest, shall be owned by Him as His children, being like Him -- Matthew Henry Study Bible (KJV), p. 1966.

Day #9

But love ye your enemies, and do good, and lend, hoping for nothing again; and your reward shall be great, and ye shall be the children of the Highest: for he is kind unto the unthankful and to the evil -- Luke 6:35.

The context of Luke 6:30-35 makes it clear that Christ does not refer here to interest on loans, but rather to the great principle that Christians should give to others, treat others equitably, do good to others, and love others-without calculating in advance the probability of getting the same or more in return. Christians are to help even apparently hopeless cases. Help is to be based on need, not on the anticipation of getting a return on the investment of good deeds. The Christian is never to be "weary in well doing" (Gal. 6:9), nor should he feel that his labour is "in vain" (1 Cor. 15:58).

Christ held forth rewards for right living, not primarily as incentives-yet rightly understood, they are properly incentives-but to demonstrate that though men may not appreciate the high principles on which citizens of the heavenly kingdom operate, God nevertheless knows and appreciates. He will eventually bring the reign of sin to an end and will reconstitute the affairs of this world in harmony with the very principles for which His "sons" endure injustice in this present world. The highest motive of a Christian is not to live the better life in order to acquire certain rewards, though these properly have their place, but rather to live the better life in recognition of the fact that in and of itself it is a better life. A Christian finds ultimate satisfaction in living in harmony with the great eternal principles of the kingdom of heaven.

Their moral likeness to God proves them to be His children. They are His sons because they think, speak, and live in harmony with His principles.

Christ is not so much concerned with the fact that these [unthankful] persons do not express appreciation for the kindnesses shown them by citizens of the kingdom of heaven, as He is with the basic attitude of the thankless. Even so, God is still kind to them, and the sons of God on earth-those who resemble their heavenly Father in moral character-will do likewise.

The "ungracious" and "evil" are here treated as one group of people, not two separate groups. The kindnesses God extends are based on His own graciousness as giver, not on any graciousness on the part of the recipients. It is sometimes the case that graciousness extended to the most unworthy and unappreciative individual awakens in him a desire to escape from the bonds of sin, and ultimately brings about a transformation of his character -- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary, [Luke 6:35].

Day #10

Be ye therefore merciful, as your Father also is merciful -- Luke 6:36.

Brethren and sisters, I ask you to consider this matter carefully. Think of the wants of the fatherless and motherless. Are not your hearts stirred as you witness their sufferings? See if something cannot be done for the care of these helpless ones. As far as lies in your power, make a home for the homeless. Let everyone stand ready to act a part in helping forward this work. The Lord said to Peter: "Feed My lambs." This command is to us, and by opening our homes for the orphans we aid in its fulfilment. Let not Jesus be disappointed in you.

Take these children and present them to God as a fragrant offering. Ask His blessing upon them, and then mould and fashion them according to Christ's order. Will our people accept this holy trust? Because of our shallow piety and worldly ambition, shall those for whom Christ has died be left to suffer, to go in wrong paths?

The word of God abounds with instruction as to how we should treat the widow, the fatherless, and the needy, suffering poor. If all would obey this instruction, the widow's heart would sing for joy; hungry little children would be fed; the destitute would be clothed; and those ready to perish would be revived. Heavenly intelligences are looking on, and when, imbued with zeal for Christ's honour, we place ourselves in the channel of God's providence, these heavenly messengers will impart to us a new spiritual power so that we shall be able to combat difficulties and triumph over obstacles.

And what a blessing would reward the workers. To many who are now indolent, selfish, and self-centred, it would be as life from the dead. There would be among us a revival of heavenly charity and wisdom and zeal -- Testimonies for the Church, vol. 6, pp. 284, 285.