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 children of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked. Luke 6:35
“The giver of every good and perfect gift has called upon us to mimic God’s giving, by grace, through faith, and this is not of ourselves.”
St. Nicholas of Myra (270-343).
The Basilica of Saint Nicholas (pictured above) across from Centraal Station in Amsterdam holds a relic linked to St. Nicholas. He’s honored as the patron saint of Amsterdam and the rest of the world links him to Santa Claus.
Why mention him the day we are leaving Amsterdam and starting the long trip home?
Imagine if all of us aimed to mimic God’s giving. If we all focused on doing good even to the most undeserving and wicked. We’d look like Jesus to the watching world.
Rather than recount legendary saints, let’s look at ourselves and our current reality.
What if we resolved by grace through faith to mimic the generosity of God? Imagine the reputation we could spread to the watching world!
We can do it because it is not of ourselves and entirely possible in Christ.