Matthew 5: 43-44 43“You have heard that it was said, ‘YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR and hate your enemy.’ 44But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,
Jesus has begun to give the Sermon on the Mount. But I asked myself where was the Sermon on the Mount given…He was on a mountainside near Capernaum in Galilee. He begins with a lovely poetic list of who are the ones blessed. The Sermon on the Mount covers three chapters in Matthew. Within these chapters are several parables, The Lord’s Prayer, the Golden Rule, and how to handle personal relationships. The people were listening to every word that He was saying. Within his words is much wisdom, but also words that go against the conventional.
These verses are some of those words that go against the conventional back in those days and today. Certainly, we have gotten beyond those people who lived so primitive to what we live these days… ah but we haven’t…
Of course, we have houses that have modern conveniences like indoor plumbing, and stoves that run on electricity, but there has been little change of attitudes between people from then until now. When I was doing the study of the men of the Bible, I found that Adam was the first person to put the blame of his action on someone else. Don’t people still do that. A marriage broke up… if my spouse had been there for me, I would have never strayed. Do we not want to wish harm for those that hurt us and are our enemies. I have certainly wanted that to happen.
Looking back, I know that my heart was in the wrong place. I wished hell for a couple of those people. Sometimes I can be stubborn, and it took a two by four moment of nearly dying that began to change my life in so many ways. The dead came to visit me that night, and two of them were people that I had not forgiven. It was a step towards forgiving them. Because if Jesus accepted their repentance then I could also.
Jesus tells us that society tells us to love our neighbors but to hate our enemies. He says society is wrong. He then tells us to love our enemy and to pray for those who wish harm, and hurt us. He is telling us that we need to be better than society. Later when he gives the Lord’s Prayer, he tells us that how we forgive will be how we are forgiven. Society will tell you that some things should not be forgiven, but Jesus says that all things that hurt, damage, and crush us can and must be forgiven.
This is radical thinking. It is still radical thinking. I will tell you this that once I forgave those that harmed me was when I finally began to heal. When I felt I had a right to say I was hurt, the wounds inflicted on me festered, and were a blight on my soul. Forgiving those who caused those wounds cleaned the wound and they healed. Jesus knows this and that is why he says to love our enemies and pray for them.
Today’s question: Who do you need to forgive and why are you not taking that step to forgive them?
Ever in Christ’s love,
Mary Elizabeth Todd
February 13, 2024 & May 23, 2024
Ruhamah United Methodist Church Bible Verses 