~~~ Deuteronomy 26: 16-19 ~~~ Psalm 119 ~~~ Matthew 5: 43-48 ~~~
"So be perfect just as your heavenly Father is perfect."
We are hearing another version of the Golden Rule. Only this time it is not good enough to simply love your neighbor, because your neighbor is more likely than not to be like you. Many sermons have been delivered on this topic. It is easier many times to love those who are most like you. In fact we tend to choose our friends based on what we have in common. You may share the same interests, hobbies, religious beliefs, political beliefs, similar careers; the list could go on.
If you want to have God as your best friend then you must 'walk in his ways' and 'hearken to his voice'. If we are the sheep and Jesus is the Shepherd then we will surround him and we will respond to the sound of his voice. In this way he will know and we will know that we are 'pecularily his own'. For if we are his own we will desire to be perfect. For if we walk with the Lord we will be a 'sacred' people.
Matthew gives us a little play book of queues to help us.
love your enemies
pray for those who persecute you
That's all? Just those couple things...should not be too difficult. My writing them and your reading them might not be difficult, but putting them into practice consistently; well that might not be so simple.
Jesus is the primary figure who has accomplished this depth of love. Jesus was often interacting with those whom we would find hard to love. Mother Teresa is one of our contemporary examples of this quality of love. She spent most of her life caring for the forgotten ones.
I think about that today. Who do I find the most difficult to love? I can think of a couple times in my life when I was able, with the Grace of God, to accomplish loving someone who had wronged me. At least in my eyes I was wronged. I decided that somehow I had to rise above my perception in order to have a life worth living. It was a challenge. It was not easy.
I think about that today. Who do I find the most difficult to love? I can think of a couple times in my life when I was able, with the Grace of God, to accomplish loving someone who had wronged me. At least in my eyes I was wronged. I decided that somehow I had to rise above my perception in order to have a life worth living. It was a challenge. It was not easy.
"So be perfect just as your heavenly Father is perfect."
I think perhaps this is about forgiveness. If we must love our enemies we must first forgive them. This of course does not require that you like them. Love and Like are not interchangeable. They do not carry equal weight. Love far out weighs like.
If we must pray for those who wrong us. How can you do that without also forgiving them? Jesus even forgave those who nailed him to the cross. The Amish parents forgave the man who killed their daughters. They even reached out to his family.
"So be perfect just as your heavenly Father is perfect."
I am not sure I can ever live up to that command, but I can always keep trying. Each new day gives me another opportunity to strive closer to the heavenly Father's perfection. I think making the effort counts in the eyes of God. Don't you?
Our crucified Lord is of course our best example of the Father's perfect love.
It is through this perfect love that we are saved.
I hope you will keep this scripture of love close to your heart especially when you are challenged to love someone persecuting you.
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