April
26, 2003
LOVING
YOUR ENEMIES
"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; for He makes
His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on
the just and on the unjust" (Matthew 5:43-45, NKJV).
This
was a hard saying for the revengeful Jews, and they murmured
against it among themselves. "They regarded themselves
as better than other men, and as entitled to the special favor
of God by virtue of their birth as Israelites; but Jesus pointed
to the spirit of forgiving love as that which would give evidence
that they were actuated by any higher motives than even the
publicans and sinners, whom they despised.
"He
pointed His hearers to the Ruler of the universe, under the
new name, 'Our Father.' He would
have them understand how tenderly the heart of God yearned
over them. He teaches that God cares for every lost soul;
that 'as a father pitieth his children, so the Lord pities
those who fear Him' (Psalm 103:13). Such a conception of God
was never given to the world by any religion but that of the
Bible. Heathenism teaches men to look upon the Supreme Being
as an object of fear rather than of love - a malign deity
to be appeased by sacrifices, rather than a Father pouring
upon His children the gift of His love. Even the people of
Israel had become so blinded to the precious teaching of the
prophets concerning God that this revelation of His paternal
love was as an original subject, a new gift to the world.
"The
Jews held that God loved those who served Him,-according to
their view, those who fulfilled the requirements of the rabbis,-and
that all the rest of the world lay under His frown and curse.
Not so, said Jesus; the whole world, the evil and the good,
lies in the sunshine of His love. This truth you should have
learned from nature itself; for God 'makes
His sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain
on the just and on the unjust'... Every good thing
we have, each ray of sunshine and shower of rain, every morsel
of food, every moment of life, is a gift of love.
"The
children of God are those who are partakers of His nature.
It is not earthly rank, nor birth, nor nationality, nor religious
privilege, which proves that we are members of the family
of God; it is love, a love that embraces all humanity. Even
sinners whose hearts are not utterly closed to God's Spirit,
will respond to kindness; while they may give hate for hate,
they will also give love for love. But it is only the Spirit
of God that gives love for hatred. To be kind to the unthankful
and to the evil, to do good hoping for nothing again, is the
insignia of the royalty of heaven, the sure token by which
the children of the Highest reveal their high estate."--Thoughts
From The Mount Of Blessing, pp., 73-75.
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