Radical Behavior

Radical Behavior

Read: Luke 6:27-36

“If you do good to those who are good to you, what credit is that to you?”

Luke 6:33

“We are to do acts of kindness to those that least of all deserve it.”

—William Law

IN WORD It’s hard learning this new kingdom culture, especially for those of us who would prefer to blend in with the crowd. But with Jesus, there is conformity to His character and His kingdom, but there is no blending in with this world. Jesus was uncompromising in His behavior, whether He was tempted in the wilderness, proclaiming truth at the Temple, preaching from a mountain, or pointing out the hypocrisy of His adversaries. Truth never took a backseat to protocol in Jesus’ ministry. Neither did good works ever take a backseat to crowd preferences and political agendas. Jesus did only what He heard the Father tell Him. No other voice really mattered.

Can we say the same thing about our behavior? Do we follow only the voice of the Father to the exclusion of all other voices? Are we uncompromising in our stance on right and wrong and good and evil? More than that, are we kind and looking out for the welfare of those who are bitter and wicked toward us? That’s our high calling, you know. God expects us to stand out from the crowd with our display of good works, and the only way to stand out is to do them for people who don’t deserve them. Everyone can do them for those who are good to them in return. Only a God-filled person can uncompromisingly benefit an ill- spirited person.

IN DEED Yes, this is unnatural. But where in Scripture does God ask us to act naturally? Our nature is fallen; we inherited it from Eden’s disaster. No, we are to act according to a different nature. It may feel strange to us at first, but it is offered freely nonetheless. We must accept the radical promptings of the Spirit of God and be clothed in the character of Jesus. Then we must move out into this world with a different agenda than we ever thought we’d have. We must be radical in our behavior and display the radical nature of our God.