Love For Enemies Matthew 5:43-48
Love for Enemies
43 “You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ 44 But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 45 that you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. 46 If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? 47 And if you greet only your own people, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that? 48 Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.
Reflection: Jesus closes up this section of his sermon with a high challenge. He preaches if you want to understand what it is like to live in God's kingdom, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you. It is almost as if Jesus is assuming that if they are going to live according to these kingdom values, there is going to be resistance. Sometimes you can make enemies merely by doing what is right. And Jesus tells them to do two things as they encounter resistance to others as they most certainly will. He tells them to love them and pray for them. The natural reaction for every one of us is to get back at someone who hurts us. When someone says something about us, we want to counter by saying something about them.
But Jesus is teaching them to go a different path. How? How will they be able to re-frame a situation to look at it through a different way of thinking so they can respond, differently than those in the world who don't know God. Jesus uses the idea that since they are the children of God, they should act like their Heavenly Father. Meaning since they have a new identity in Christ and have become part of God's family, their actions should reflect that. And specifically since God is merciful to all people, as illustrated by the fact that he gives rain and sun necessary for life to all people, shouldn't we likewise be merciful. God has generally been merciful to everyone through His providence, and specifically been merciful to all of us in forgiving us all of ours sins through Jesus.
So at the end of the day we can confess to be a Christian, but in doing so we need to follow the example of our Savior, who loved His enemies to the point of saying on the cross, "Father forgive them they know no what they do?"
Who is your enemy today? Maybe it is just someone who gets under your skin, or causes you a lot of problems. Maybe it is someone who is jealous of you and rejoices in your failure. Regardless can you see the power of if we pray for them and ask God's best for them how this can not only lessen their impact on our stress level, but help us to see them as God sees them. There is probably no greater testimony to a changed life, than someone who can treat their enemies in this way. Likewise there is probably no greater testimony to those around you that you have changed and you are under new management. You are a child of the Heavenly Father and serve Him alone.
Jesus help us to love our enemies no matter how great or small they may be, so we can show the world what the love of the Father looks like, and lead them to your saving grace. Amen.
43 “You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ 44 But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 45 that you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. 46 If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? 47 And if you greet only your own people, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that? 48 Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.
Reflection: Jesus closes up this section of his sermon with a high challenge. He preaches if you want to understand what it is like to live in God's kingdom, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you. It is almost as if Jesus is assuming that if they are going to live according to these kingdom values, there is going to be resistance. Sometimes you can make enemies merely by doing what is right. And Jesus tells them to do two things as they encounter resistance to others as they most certainly will. He tells them to love them and pray for them. The natural reaction for every one of us is to get back at someone who hurts us. When someone says something about us, we want to counter by saying something about them.
But Jesus is teaching them to go a different path. How? How will they be able to re-frame a situation to look at it through a different way of thinking so they can respond, differently than those in the world who don't know God. Jesus uses the idea that since they are the children of God, they should act like their Heavenly Father. Meaning since they have a new identity in Christ and have become part of God's family, their actions should reflect that. And specifically since God is merciful to all people, as illustrated by the fact that he gives rain and sun necessary for life to all people, shouldn't we likewise be merciful. God has generally been merciful to everyone through His providence, and specifically been merciful to all of us in forgiving us all of ours sins through Jesus.
So at the end of the day we can confess to be a Christian, but in doing so we need to follow the example of our Savior, who loved His enemies to the point of saying on the cross, "Father forgive them they know no what they do?"
Who is your enemy today? Maybe it is just someone who gets under your skin, or causes you a lot of problems. Maybe it is someone who is jealous of you and rejoices in your failure. Regardless can you see the power of if we pray for them and ask God's best for them how this can not only lessen their impact on our stress level, but help us to see them as God sees them. There is probably no greater testimony to a changed life, than someone who can treat their enemies in this way. Likewise there is probably no greater testimony to those around you that you have changed and you are under new management. You are a child of the Heavenly Father and serve Him alone.
Jesus help us to love our enemies no matter how great or small they may be, so we can show the world what the love of the Father looks like, and lead them to your saving grace. Amen.
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