Exodus 23:5 (NIV) If you see the donkey of someone who hates you fallen down under its load, do not leave it there; be sure you help them with it.

When God lets us know through His Word that His ways are not like our ways (Isaiah 55:8-9), He's not kidding! What we consider “being good” is nothing at all compared to God's standards. In Exodus chapter 23, God lists a number of laws for the people to follow that are listed as laws of justice and mercy. But what God considers justice and mercy blows what we know as justice and mercy out of the water! The verse above is a good example. While we would pat ourselves on the back if we went out of the way to help a friend who had a situation that he needed help with, such as with his donkey who had collapsed under a load, the Lord doesn't consider that a big deal (see Luke 6:32-36) (By the way, as an aside, don't overload your donkey!). You are only in God's divine territory if you help the overloaded donkey that belongs to someone that can't stand your guts. That's what God expects you to do. As we know, it's not donkeys that the Lord is primarily concerned about. It's not even the person who hates you that God is aiming at with a law like this. He is after the attitude of your heart. While we may have the capacity (on a good day) to help people who are in need, we all fall short in helping anyone that is against us or that just doesn't like us. We have a limit to the good that we do if we do good at all. God has no limits to doing good. He has no limits to doing good to those that hate Him and oppose Him. Many who today are following Christ were enemies of God who used to curse His name. But God's mercy is so great that it is very difficult if not impossible to fathom. But here is the thing: he made you and me in His image. That image has been marred by sin. He sent His Son, Jesus, to save us from our sinful nature and from the penalty of our sin so that we can be restored to the original way that God made us. The only way for you to see the transformation is to allow Christ Jesus to live in you and through you to do the things that you are not capable of doing, such as helping a collapsed donkey that belongs to that guy who hates you.

Jesus died for you while you were still a sinner. He loved you long before you ever loved Him. He now wants to transform you to be like Him. You will find that when you allow Him to do His beautiful work in you (through the Holy Spirit), you will live in the best state of mind, heart and being that is possible here on earth. To be full of the love of God to the point where you can help someone who has been nasty, mean or unfair to you is quite a supernatural experience. It's when you know that God has done and continues to do His miraculous work of making you just like Jesus. That is life to full measure. Try it out. Start with your enemy's donkey and work your way up from there!

Pastor Joey Vazquez