BE PERFECT

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Matt 5:43 "You have heard that it was said, 'You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.' 44 "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, 45 "that you may be sons of your Father in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. 46 "For if you love those who love you, what reward have you? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? 47 "And if you greet your brethren only, what do you do more [than others]? Do not even the tax collectors do so? 48 "Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect. 46 "For if you love those who love you, what reward have you? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? 47 "And if you greet your brethren only, what do you do more [than others]? Do not even the tax collectors do so?

Matt 5:48 "Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect.

I am not trying to boast, because I feel like I have failed at this more than I have succeeded over the years; being perfect that is. What is Jesus saying to us here? I believe the perfection He is speaking of, is loving people that don’t love you back. Consider that mankind had never done anything but sin against God, when He sent Jesus, out of His great love for us, to die for us!

Look this entire text over good. We Christians must love even those that not only don’t show us love but also, even those that show us hate and harm. It is in this expressing of love toward those that would be our adversaries, that we demonstrate that we truly are the sons and daughters of God! This is no short order and is impossible to do unless we learn the art of letting God’s love for them, flow through us!

The pressure we are under is not “I’ve just got to be more loving!” No! Look at it like this: “I’ve just got to stop holding God’s love for them back!” We have this treasure, Jesus, in our earthen vessels. O Heavenly Father, may your mighty love flow through us like a river, even to our worst enemy! Let us remember that it is the goodness, literally the kindness of God, that leads us to repentance! (Rom. 2:4) O God, make us perfect, just like You! Now brothers and sisters, let’s zero in on someone to love on in Jesus name, today!

Every blessing!

—Tom