But & Rise
43 “You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ 44 But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 45 that you may be children
of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and
the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. 46 If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? 47 And if you greet only your own people, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that? 48 Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect. Matthew 5:43-48
When you rise in the morning, do you think much about who you
are going to deal with, or do you have someone you really don't want to
deal with today? A lot of times I think we can focus quite a bit on
avoidance, or how we can get back at that person you had a problem
with. That comes from sin and maybe we need to think about what is said
in the first verse. Jesus was pretty blunt and straight-forward with
what His expectations were with loving our neighbor. A lot of us will
see this verse and use the "but" excuse. But that person was rude. But
that person was mean. But that person was dishonest. But that person
was negative. I don't think Jesus' "but" in verse 44 is the same kind
of "but" most of us use or see daily. In verse 45 He notes that God
loves everyone, and He doesn't focus just on the "good" people. If we
are focusing just on the "good" people or looking down on the people who
are rude or mean to us, then we are doing the exact opposite of what
Jesus commanded. We need to Rise up and focus on loving our neighbor
and enemies, and head toward that perfection that He speaks about.
Have a great weekend.
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