Plain and Simple

"But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, for he is kind to the ungrateful and the evil."

Now, who of us does not have a problem with this? "You mean I am supposed to continue to loan my money to that guy who never pays me back? That's bad money management." "I should be kind to that lady in the office who just spreads lies about me?" This is why the Gospel is polar opposite to every other religion out there.

We want to be praying for specific requests for the Dong people, and this is most certainly an issue for Dong Christians, just like it is for just about every Christian on this planet. Though incredibly simple, this message is probably one of the hardest things we will ever attempt, for we have to go against the very core of our sinful, selfish nature to follow the way of Christ.


Most of the Dong Christians are still feeding on spiritual milk, and though this passage is not some deep, philosophical message written by Paul requiring a knowledge of Greek just to understand, in all of its simplicity, it is probably much harder to actually apply. In other words, this is the perfect passage for the Dong people.

Though they do not know how to read the scriptures in the Dong language and have a hard time understanding the Chinese Bible, this is a passage that could easily be translated in a few minutes or understood with even the most basic Chinese reading ability. Once communicated, the Dong could spend years on this verse alone, using this basic message of Christ to grow into mature Christians.

Let us pray that when they hear these words of Jesus, they will instantly perceive how different this message is from anything they have ever heard. Pray that they will not ignore them, but strive to apply them, all the while growing in godliness and learning the way of Christ.