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Matthew 5:43-44, “You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you…” 

In chapter 5, we find the first portion of Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount. This block of teaching may have occurred over several days or even several weeks.  We really don’t know.  But the author, Matthew, has beautifully pieced together this teaching, highlighting the authority of Jesus and the unique nature of his Kingdom.  Under the law, it was said this but now I tell you this…. Jesus is presenting his followers with a whole new way of looking at the world.  He isn’t dismissing the Old Testament teaching, he is simply reinterpreting them.   

One of the most intriguing of the teachings is to love our enemies.  This would have been unheard of in first-century Palestine.  Love your enemies?  What?  Jesus’ basis for this teaching is founded in God’s own nature.  God is, first and foremost, a God of love. He gives sun and rain to the good and the evil alike.  He does not discriminate.  Nor should we.  The Pharisees cast judgment on others but we are not to do the same.  We should seek to be perfect, as God is perfect, to have a heart willing to love those who seem to be unlovable.   

Be honest with yourself.  Who have you deemed unlovable?  Spend some time with God reconciling this.   

Let’s pray…Lord Jesus, Help us seek holiness and perfection, loving others in the way you love them.  Reveal to us those places in our hearts that are hard and unforgiving.  In Your Name, Amen.