You have heard that it was said, “You shall love your neighbor and
hate your enemy.” But 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, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven....” (Matthew
5:43--45)
I have heard it said that all fathers want for their sons to be like them. Even the worst of fathers, a father apart from God, wants to see a glimmer of himself reflected in the life of his sons. He wants his mannerisms mirrored, his values personified, his resemblance reflected in his offspring.
The Word says that we are created in God's image: “So God created man in His own image” (Genesis 1:27). He made us like He is, but because we are born into this fallen world, we do not always in every way accurately reflect that image; we do not always live a life that reflects God's values. A prime example of the stark contrast between commonly-accepted values and God’s is found in the Scripture in Matthew 5. Our experience teaches us to love those who love us and to despise those who are our enemies; however, Jesus tells us how to act in accordance with Kingdom values when He says, "Love your enemies. . . . “ Loving enemies doesn’t mean we love what they do to us or how they act; it means that we love the unlovable in spite of who they are. We walk in forgiveness and love them despite how they might treat us. That is in keeping with our Father who loved us while we were yet sinners. Nothing can cause His love for us to diminish. Nothing. Pure, selfless, God-like love is what He longs to see flowing out of His own children, just like it flowed out of Jesus. 1 Peter 2:23 describes Jesus this way, “. . . [W]hen He was reviled, [He] did not revile in return; when He suffered, He did not threaten, but committed Himself to Him who judges righteously. . . .“ When you are reviled (verbally attacked), do you attack right back? When you suffer because of others, do you threaten them in any way, seeking to defend yourself? Or, at those times, do you commit yourself to Him Who judges righteously?
I have heard it said that all fathers want for their sons to be like them. Even the worst of fathers, a father apart from God, wants to see a glimmer of himself reflected in the life of his sons. He wants his mannerisms mirrored, his values personified, his resemblance reflected in his offspring.
The Word says that we are created in God's image: “So God created man in His own image” (Genesis 1:27). He made us like He is, but because we are born into this fallen world, we do not always in every way accurately reflect that image; we do not always live a life that reflects God's values. A prime example of the stark contrast between commonly-accepted values and God’s is found in the Scripture in Matthew 5. Our experience teaches us to love those who love us and to despise those who are our enemies; however, Jesus tells us how to act in accordance with Kingdom values when He says, "Love your enemies. . . . “ Loving enemies doesn’t mean we love what they do to us or how they act; it means that we love the unlovable in spite of who they are. We walk in forgiveness and love them despite how they might treat us. That is in keeping with our Father who loved us while we were yet sinners. Nothing can cause His love for us to diminish. Nothing. Pure, selfless, God-like love is what He longs to see flowing out of His own children, just like it flowed out of Jesus. 1 Peter 2:23 describes Jesus this way, “. . . [W]hen He was reviled, [He] did not revile in return; when He suffered, He did not threaten, but committed Himself to Him who judges righteously. . . .“ When you are reviled (verbally attacked), do you attack right back? When you suffer because of others, do you threaten them in any way, seeking to defend yourself? Or, at those times, do you commit yourself to Him Who judges righteously?
The Lord intends for us to overcome evil with good,
in accordance with Romans 12:21. Little by little, we can portray the image of
our Father and show the world how to live according to Kingdom principles.
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