Mat 5:43 Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy.
Mat 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;
Mat 5:45 That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.
Mat 5:46 For if ye love them which love you, what reward have ye? do not even the publicans the same?
Mat 5:47 And if ye salute your brethren only, what do ye more than others? do not even the publicans so?
Mat 5:48 Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.
I think we've all heard preaching on this topic, from the Beatitudes, and the story of the good Samaritan. But can we be honest a moment? Who of us actually loves those who are nasty and cruel and hateful towards ourselves? I get a failing grade here. It's easy to be a "good Christian" to those who are nice, and who treat us with love and respect. Not so much with that other kind of person, the ones who would spit in your face given half a chance.
God has tested me over and over on this one, and I fail each time.
In another situation, Jesus disciples asked Him:
Mat 19:25 When his disciples heard it, they were exceedingly amazed, saying, Who then can be saved?
and I take comfort in Jesus' answer (I know this isn't a salvation issue....):
Mat 19:26 But Jesus beheld them, and said unto them, With men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible.
Nothing will be impossible with God the angel told Mary.
ReplyDeleteI should remind myself of this all the time.
Hope is what keeps us alive. :)
So true, Ma. We continue to try, and our flesh continues to fail us, but Jesus is LONGsuffering, and He is our only hope :)
DeleteHi Lyn,
ReplyDelete"Blessed are the overcomers"
You are right, I know that over time the Lord has changed me...and I see more clearly the things that He does not approve of in MYSELF (instead of only seeing those things in others like I have to sadly admit comes much more easily to me).
To be "less prone to being 'thin-skinned'" YES! That is what's needed exactly. To recognize, with Jesus: "Father forgive them FOR THEY KNOW NOT WHAT THEY DO".
They do not have a clue about what they are doing, they do not see themselves as the Lord sees them. They are to be pitied and not hated. I need to remind myself of this every day, no, every hour! ;)
I think that the teaching to love our enemies is perhaps the hardest in the whole Bible. And yes, it is impossible for man, but not for God.
ReplyDeleteHi Leslie,
DeleteWe can "fake it" but without Him we cannot make it (true, that is)