43 “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor[g] and hate your enemy.’ 44But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you,[h] 45 that you may be sons of your Father 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 have you? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? 47 And if you greet your brethren[i] only, what do you do more than others? Do not even the tax collectors[j] do so? 48 Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect. Matthew 5:43-48
Oh how easy it is to love those who love you and hate those who hate you. It just seems logical don't it? But Jesus didn't come to preach what was logical or the "in" thing to do. In fact he made reference to what we have been conditioned to think and refuted the thought and gave us another way of living. There is often a struggle between what we have been conditioned to think (those things that we see as being right) and what
Jesus is telling us to do (the right thing) that totally contradicts what we have been doing and how we have been living. In Proverbs 14:12 it states: "There is a way that seems right to a man, But its end is the way of death." Sometimes the things that we think are right are not and may cause our demise. Jesus came that we may have life, not death. His will is for us to follow his teachings and truly live how the Father intends for us to live.
Imagine how you can impact the life of someone who is intent on cursing and persecuting you if you show them love. Imagine how they may not understand your kindness towards them and seek to understand why you are treating them with love. Imagine the change that may take place as a result of you showing them love. There is a great reward in this, not just for you but for them. Your actions may be what leads another child of God back to Him. Your actions may model to them how they should treat others. Your actions may be what they have longed for all there lives and finally has a chance to experience it. Imagine then, your worst enemy becoming your friend just because you decided to take the road less traveled. And yes it is the road less traveled because it seems very foreign to some but to believers and followers of Christ, it is a way of life.
Loving our enemies, praying for those who persecute us is something we cannot do in the flesh but in the spirit. Our flesh will truly fight us every step of the way but the spirit will comply because it is the right thing to do. What Jesus taught us was another way of living, one that didn't rely on our flesh but on our spirit. Taking these steps, following his teachings daily will get us to the place where our flesh is under submission and we can live his word effortlessly.
Brothers and sisters in Christ we should strive for perfection daily if we are in Christ and His words are what we live by. God bless you!
For if you live according to the flesh you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. - Romans 8:13
Jesus is telling us to do (the right thing) that totally contradicts what we have been doing and how we have been living. In Proverbs 14:12 it states: "There is a way that seems right to a man, But its end is the way of death." Sometimes the things that we think are right are not and may cause our demise. Jesus came that we may have life, not death. His will is for us to follow his teachings and truly live how the Father intends for us to live.
Imagine how you can impact the life of someone who is intent on cursing and persecuting you if you show them love. Imagine how they may not understand your kindness towards them and seek to understand why you are treating them with love. Imagine the change that may take place as a result of you showing them love. There is a great reward in this, not just for you but for them. Your actions may be what leads another child of God back to Him. Your actions may model to them how they should treat others. Your actions may be what they have longed for all there lives and finally has a chance to experience it. Imagine then, your worst enemy becoming your friend just because you decided to take the road less traveled. And yes it is the road less traveled because it seems very foreign to some but to believers and followers of Christ, it is a way of life.
Loving our enemies, praying for those who persecute us is something we cannot do in the flesh but in the spirit. Our flesh will truly fight us every step of the way but the spirit will comply because it is the right thing to do. What Jesus taught us was another way of living, one that didn't rely on our flesh but on our spirit. Taking these steps, following his teachings daily will get us to the place where our flesh is under submission and we can live his word effortlessly.
Brothers and sisters in Christ we should strive for perfection daily if we are in Christ and His words are what we live by. God bless you!
For if you live according to the flesh you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. - Romans 8:13
No comments:
Post a Comment