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Matthew 5:44 "But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you;"
Who are our enemies? What does it mean to love your enemies?, what kind of love do we love them? how actions do we take to extend such love?
How does it mean to bless our enemies? What actions do we take to bless them?
Who are our persecutors? what kind of prayers do we pray for them? What kind of relations should we maintain with our prosecutors? Should we maintain distance from our prosecutors though we forgive them?
Jesus' long list of reversals in chapter 5 concludes with this one. His listeners had grown up under a partly correct teaching. God's Word does, indeed, command us to love our neighbor as our self ( Leviticus 19:18). However, it seems that the religious leaders were also teaching that it was permissible-possibly even mandatory-to hate one's enemies ( Matthew 5:43). Jesus again declares that God's intent for the righteousness of His people goes beyond selfishness and legalism. It implies something much more difficult and more like God Himself.
Instead of only acting in love towards neighbors, Jesus tells His disciples to love their enemies and even to pray for those who persecute them. Though few people live this out, in a meaningful way, the idea is deeply ingrained in western culture. Many modern people have heard this teaching, or variations on it, all our lives. That makes it easy to forget how radical the claim was, especially for those who live with daily threats from dire enemies, as did the first-century Israelites.
Christ does nothing to take the edge off this command, either. This is not described as emotional love, or affection. This kind of love is meant to be expressed in action. Offering prayers to God for people who are actively hurting you, especially for being associated with Christ, requires looking at the world in a completely different way. Jesus will escalate the difficulty of His command in the following verses.
It's hard in this current world of media, to practice this teaching of Jesus. We have to disconnect from worldliness and live as Jesus desired us to do. We have to embrace His Cross in order to do this. He gave himself for us, so that through His sacrifice; we can live as He asks of us. It's best to avoid senseless conflicts when you can. I think of what Jesus would do.__
Who are our enemies? What does it mean to love your enemies?, what kind of love do we love them? how actions do we take to extend such love?
How does it mean to bless our enemies? What actions do we take to bless them?
Who are our persecutors? what kind of prayers do we pray for them? What kind of relations should we maintain with our prosecutors? Should we maintain distance from our prosecutors though we forgive them?
Thank you.
Renzo Biswa
Instead of only acting in love towards neighbors, Jesus tells His disciples to love their enemies and even to pray for those who persecute them. Though few people live this out, in a meaningful way, the idea is deeply ingrained in western culture. Many modern people have heard this teaching, or variations on it, all our lives. That makes it easy to forget how radical the claim was, especially for those who live with daily threats from dire enemies, as did the first-century Israelites.
Christ does nothing to take the edge off this command, either. This is not described as emotional love, or affection. This kind of love is meant to be expressed in action. Offering prayers to God for people who are actively hurting you, especially for being associated with Christ, requires looking at the world in a completely different way. Jesus will escalate the difficulty of His command in the following verses.
It's hard in this current world of media, to practice this teaching of Jesus. We have to disconnect from worldliness and live as Jesus desired us to do. We have to embrace His Cross in order to do this. He gave himself for us, so that through His sacrifice; we can live as He asks of us. It's best to avoid senseless conflicts when you can. I think of what Jesus would do.__
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