BIBLE PASSAGE:
“You have heard that it was said, love your neighbor and hate your
enemy, I tell you: love your enemies and pray for those who persecute
you, that you may be sons 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.”
(Matthew 5:43-45)
MEDITATION:
How do you feel when you are playing a game with someone and they suddenly
change the rules? You thought you had the game all figured out, but now they
have added new rules. It requires a change in your thinking and your approach
to the game, doesn’t it? You have to modify your strategy if you expect to be
successful.
That’s exactly what Jesus did – He changed the game for everyone. The world’s
rules were to love only your neighbor (or friends) and hate your enemies. But
Jesus changed the rules drastically by telling us to love our enemies as well, and
even pray for those who persecute us. These changes are far different from the
world standards, aren’t they? For those who struggle with the worldly norms,
Jesus just made it even more difficult.
Sometimes loving our neighbors (friends) can be a challenge,
especially when they disrespect us. We might remember some
examples when we were disrespected even by friends. It may
have been unintentional but lack of respect can create issues
between friends.
Even the world wants us to love our friends and learn to tolerate
some things to keep a healthy friendship. We might feel good about
ourselves when we overlook being disrespected by a friend, but Jesus
says we are just getting started – we have to love our enemies too!
Why would He give us these difficult commands? Because we should
have a desire to be like Him and He loved His enemies. Whenever He
was challenged by them, did He disrespect them? No, He patiently
listened to them and calmly responded. More than that, He went to
the cross not only for His friends, but for His enemies as well.
Prior to being crucified, Jesus spent most of a night in prayer. We don’t
know everything He prayed about, but we do know that He asked His
Father if there was some other salvation plan.
And going a little farther he fell on his face and prayed,
saying, “My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass
from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will.”
(Matthew 26:39)
We can see from this scripture, that Jesus planned to be obedient
to His Father, even if He there was no other way of salvation. We
might assume that since Jesus prayed for a long time, He might
have also been praying for those who would persecute Him.
Jesus wants His followers to have a spirit of Christian love. He wants
us to live a life without anger, malice, hate, rudeness and disrespect.
Jesus changed the rules and as His followers, we need to live our lives
according to His standards, and not by the ways the world teaches us
to live.
ACTION:
Which rules are governing your life today? Are you still living by
the worldly rules or have you been transformed and are now living
by the rules created by Jesus? Followers of Jesus have been given
a new ability to love others that exceeds their natural ability to love.
Have you expanded your love to include the ‘new rules’ Jesus has
given us? Jesus didn’t tell us to love the actions of our enemies, He
told us to love them. Why? Because, just like us, they were created
by God and we should love His creations. God has promised to love
us, and them.
Pray,
“Heavenly Father, instill in me the same spirit of love that has
been shown in Your Son, Jesus. Help me to realize the ability
you have given me to love the unlovable and to pray for those
who treat me in an unkind manner. Show me that I can love
as Jesus loved. I pray that this far-reaching love will become
a natural part of my character and way of life.”
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