In Matthew 5:43-48, Jesus continues challenging us as His followers to be different from the world, to live according to His instruction.
43 “You have heard the law that says, ‘Love your neighbor’[q] and hate your enemy. 44 But I say, love your enemies![r] Pray for those who persecute you! 45 In that way, you will be acting as true children of your Father in heaven. For he gives his sunlight to both the evil and the good, and he sends rain on the just and the unjust alike. 46 If you love only those who love you, what reward is there for that? Even corrupt tax collectors do that much. 47 If you are kind only to your friends,[s] how are you different from anyone else? Even pagans do that. 48 But you are to be perfect, even as your Father in heaven is perfect.
Loving your enemies does not mean you want them to destroy you. It does not mean you agree with or accept what they are doing or how they are living. Paul describes love in 1 Corinthians 13:4-7.
4 Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud 5 or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. 6 It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. 7 Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance.
Sometimes loving someone means you have to reject their sin, tell them how they are wrong and encourage them to repent… even if they do not want to hear it. To ignore or accept their sin is not showing show love, but rather it shows ambivalence… it shows you do not care about them. To accept and endorse someone’s sin is equivalent to walking by children who are playing with a sharp knife and choosing not to say anything.
Praying for those who persecute you does not mean you pray for them to be successful in their efforts towards persecution. It means you pray for them to be open to the true word of God, for their lives to be transformed by the power of Jesus Christ. You pray for them to know, love, and serve Jesus. How glorious to have more people to follow in the path of Saul, who after encountering Jesus Christ turned his life around and became Paul… one of the most effective missionaries for Jesus Christ ever.
—-
Help us to share the good news of the gospel! Please visit our Support Us page at HearingFromJesus.org to find out more.
