Pop quiz, everyone!

1. You see a homeless man on the corner holding a plastic cup and a sign that says he’s homeless You…

1. a) Want to help, but you don’t have anything smaller than a $10, so you say, “I’m sorry,” and walk away.
   

2. b) Glance the other way and pretend to be looking for something.
   

3. c) Open up your backpack and find something to give him.
   

2. You recently made a credit card purchase and find out the company overcharged you. When you politely ask for a refund, they tell you they can’t. You…

1. a)Spend 15 minutes on the phone arguing with them about why they need to.
   

2. b)Boycott the company.
   

3. c)Walk away without demanding it back.
   

I’m a little embarrassed to admit it, but within the last couple weeks I have chosen option (a) to both of those situations. Sure, it’s the natural thing to do. But I’m realizing it was not the Christlike option. I am learning that Jesus often calls us to things that are unnatural, sacrificial, and well, pretty radical.

Just this morning I was reading from Luke 6, and these words popped out at me: “But I tell you who hear me: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. If someone strikes you on one cheek, turn to him the other also. If someone takes your cloak, do not stop him from taking your tunic. Give to everyone who asks you, and if anyone takes what belongs to you, do not demand it back…. But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked” (verses 27-30, 34, emphasis added).

Really, Jesus? You want me to give to everyone who asks of me—even the homeless guy who might use it on alcohol, even if I only have a $10? And if someone wrongly takes my money, you’d rather I let them have it than put up a fight? That seems unreasonable—and even unwise!

But that’s why he added verse 34: “Then… you will be sons of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and the wicked.” I hear Jesus saying, Yes, it’s radical. Yes, people will look at you funny and think you’re being foolish. But you’ll look like me, because I offer grace to everyone… even the undeserving, the ones who misuse my gifts and curse my name. Everyone gets excited about giving their extra to good causes. It’s only when you are radically generous at the cost of your own rights that you begin to really resemble me.

To be honest, I’m still trying to figure out how this call of Jesus plays out in my everyday life. But I am committing to giving something (what I can, not necessarily what they ask me for) to everyone who asks of me. And I’m praying that God will help me let go of the things I feel like are my “right” and humbly trust God to take care of me as I do my best to live like He calls me to.

Are you willing to walk with me against the grain of culture, leaving behind our generation’s sense of entitlement and exploring uncharted territories of generosity? I think we’ll meet Jesus there in a way we never have before.

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digging into Jesus’ sermon in Luke 6