Day Eighteen
Matthew 5:43-48 43“You have heard that it was said, ‘YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR, and hate your enemy.’ 44“But I say to you, love your enemies, and pray for those who persecute you 45in order that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven; for He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. 46“For if you love those who love you, what reward have you? Do not even the tax-gatherers do the same? 47“And if you greet your brothers only, what do you do more than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? 48“Therefore you are to be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.”
Jesus has said in these five sections not to harm others. Yet we do it all the time. I know I am guilty of doing so… I have not committed murder, but I have been angry enough that if I had not walked away, I would have hurt another with my outbursts. It is why I walk away. I have a terrible temper.
Jesus has made everyone uncomfortable. To reach the souls of human beings, you have to help them face themselves. This takes courage because it makes them uncomfortable. Change often happens when we face what makes us uncomfortable. This last section is going to make them uncomfortable. It is one of those “rights” we think we have, and that is hate those that have harmed us. Those we call our enemy.
Jesus begins by saying, “You have heard that it was said, ‘YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR, and hate your enemy.” He confronts this right. I am sure that some are there thinking now he is getting it right. Others will have guessed that Jesus is going to turn this around.
Which he does when he says, “But I say to you, love your enemies, and pray for those who persecute you in order that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven; for He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.”
Jesus tells us to love our enemies, but not only that to pray for them. Our prayers should be addressing that the Lord blesses and keeps them. Why is this important, He has just told you, but before I go into that I want to address why this is important. I think it also will change your attitude from hate to benign concerns to actually coming to a point of caring that their needs are met. This is human nature. Those that you share caring for will change your attitude towards them for simply taking time to pray for them.
Jesus explains to us and those listening that the reason for this act of kindness is that by giving kindness and patience which are acts of love. When we do this, we become children of God because we are passing on the love that He had given to us to others. Jesus tells them simply God loves our enemies. They may be unjust, but He loves them. He gives to each person sunshine and rain. His love is the same. He loves us who have become righteous through our faith in Jesus Christ just as much as He loves those who have fallen, and not found Jesus Christ.
Jesus then says to us across the centuries, “For if you love those who love you, what reward have you? Do not even the tax-gatherers do the same? And if you greet your brothers only, what do you do more than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same?”
If we only give love to those that are members of our Christian family, then we are not doing anything different than those who are not members of our family. Most people love the family to which they are born or have been adopted into, but also love those people that share similar hopes and desires. If we do not love those whom God loves and who also oppose us, we are failing to follow Christ. He is telling us to pick up His cross and follow Him. There will be those who do not understand us. There will be those that curse Him and us… Pray for them. Be kind to them. Be patient with them…
Lastly Jesus speaks why all of this important. He says, “Therefore you are to be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.”
Yeah, this is a tough one, because none of us will be perfect. It is not the actual being perfect but more striving to be perfect. All of us will slip up from time to time, but we can learn from our mishaps. We can learn to see each person as God sees them, people that He loves.
Today’s Question:
Have you ever prayed for someone who harmed you by asking God to bless their lives?
Ever in God’s Love,
Mary Elizabeth Todd
December 10, 2024
Ruhamah United Methodist Church Bible Verses 