Scripture:
Matthew 5:43-48 ESV
[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, [45] so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. [46] For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? [47] And if you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? [48] You, therefore, must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.
Observation:
As I was sifting through scripture this morning, I ran across this, and it trumped where I landed first, which is 1st Timothy 2:8-15 if you feel like it’s worth a read go take a look and maybe in the future after deeper study I can tackle it. Sometimes, just letting the scripture speak fie it’s self is all that’s needed. But let’s dive in where the Holy Spirit has directed us. These verses were grabbed from the most famous sermon ever spoken. In the bible, they title it, “The sermon on the mound.” Jesus was talking to a multitude of people. Correcting, exorting, edifying, and leading them in kingdom living. As you know, HE seemed to go against the grain. HIS very first statement in this group of verses probably set the listeners on their ear. I could see them sitting around whispering to each other… “What does HE mean lover your enemies? Doesn’t HE know how hard that is? I mean, I can love my neighbor, but you don’t know what that person did to me.” HIS teaching seemed to go against what the Levitical law said. When, in fact, it didn’t, it only took justice out of the hands of those who were incapable of handling it. An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth only left a bunch of one-eyed toothless people. Leaving justice to those better built to handle it freed people up to just love those whom GOD created. I honestly have to say that Jesus HIMSELF gave us one of the only real examples of this we could ever really see, praying for those who were driving 9-inch nails through HIS hands and feet. Talk about hard. I’m not sure I could do it, but the scripture tells me it’s how I have to stand. Jesus goes on to explain how it’s easy to love those who love you. They are on your side… you cheering section. The ones who will cosign your misconduct. But where is the reward in that? It’s not what sets you apart from anyone. The whole world loves those who love them. HE clearly explains that our call is to be set apart. In the church world, this is described as sanctification… which is just a fancy word for being set apart. I know this is a hard teaching.
Application:
When I was looking through the scripture and waiting for the Holy Spirit to tell me where to stop, after contemplating the first scripture mentioned. When I landed here, my heart was quickly corrected. This teaching from Jesus is not to be swept under the rug. You see, there are 2 ways to look at GOD’S word. It can either be a means of judgment for others or corrections for yourself. You can either justify your own behavior, or you can correct it. I have no other choice but to tell you these verses corrected my heart this morning and in the past as well. It’s just not easy to love those who either don’t love you or are treating you badly. Those who may walk to the other side of the room to avoid contact with you. But those are the ones we need to be praying for. I know it’s not easy it’s an area I struggle in myself. When someone does me wrong, I feel justified in my cold shoulder to them. But that’s not how GOD has called me to live. I think about Jesus and Steven as they were dying by the hands of men who just didn’t understand the scripture. Asking GOD to forgive them. Now, that is a picture of loving your enemy. We may look at when Jesus said forgive them father for they know not what they do and say we’ll HE was the son of GOD that’s why HE was able to do that, but where does that put us on the account of Steven who did the very same thing. I know that praying for your enemies is very difficult. I have done it… in fact, I still pray for the guy who stole my motorcycle every time I pass his house. It’s hard, I know it’s still one of the hardest things I face. I feel justified in my behavior, and I’m here to tell you it’s wrong. There’s no way around it. We are to love those who may seem to hate us, not only that we are to pray for them. Justice is not for our hands. It’s for the hands of the father. We see only in part, but HE sees the whole picture. We don’t know how powerful it is for us to love the ones who feel justified in their cold shoulder responses it’s not our job to judge them. It’s our job to love them. Sure, a little fruit inspection mighty be nessesrey. But judgments have to be left to the father. The Bible tells us to treat everyone the way we would like to be treated. Meet others with the same grace you were met with. Forgive, and you will be forgiven, show mercy, and you will receive mercy show discord, and you will receive discord, give grace, and grace will be given to you you honestly reap what you sow. I personally want love… so I am going to do my absolute best to love those who stand against me the same way Jesus did when I stood against HIM.
Prayer:
Father, this is a hard teaching. It has corrected my heart this morning. Your word tells us that even when we were your enemies riddled with sin. You sent your son to die for us. For you, that may have been easy because you see the whole picture. We only see a limited amount of it. Help us to see what you see to think how you think. Use your word to modify our behavior. We want to be more like you. Holding on to offense only hurts us. We honestly don’t want to be in that mindset of… we have a right to be offended. Because we really don’t. Your son gave us the example, and then Steven showed us it was possible to be done. Help us to lay down our rights to be offended and just love them all. It’s not our job to sort out who deserves love and who doesn’t. You loved the world so much that while we were offending you…you still sent your son to die for us. That may be a love we can never fully understand. But help us to have clarity on it so that we can love how you love. It’s in the mighty name of Jesus I pray amen.