Be Perfect as God is Perfect: Love Your Enemies

Readings:

Genesis 14

Genesis 15

Genesis 16

Matthew 5

Matthew 6

Psalms 6

Love your enemies — not just your friends and those who treat you well. This is the emphasis of Jesus’s sermon on the mount when He says,

Matthew 5:48 NLT
But you are to be perfect, even as your Father in heaven is perfect.

It’s easy for us to be offensive and petty when we are offended. In fact,  that is probably our default — “you hurt me, so I’ll hurt you” seems to be how our pride and our flesh screams out for what it thinks is “justice”.

But God has a different way. And it isn’t to be a spineless coward either. Mercy and loving our enemy is strength under control. We may have the strength, the ability, the opportunity,  and even the self justified motive for why we might destroy our enemies, but we are told to love them — and to leave Vengeance to the Lord.

Romans 12:19 NLT
Dear friends, never take revenge. Leave that to the righteous anger of God. For the Scriptures say, “I will take revenge; I will pay them back,” says the Lord.

This advice in the New Testament builds upon what we see in the Old Testament:

Psalms 94:1 NLT
O Lord, the God of vengeance, O God of vengeance, let your glorious justice shine forth!

Leviticus 19:18 NLT
“Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against a fellow Israelite, but love your neighbor as yourself. I am the Lord.

The New Testament goes beyond loving your fellow kinsman and neighbor even to living your enemy. And isn’t this how Good loves us?

Romans 5:6-11 NLT
When we were utterly helpless, Christ came at just the right time and died for us sinners. Now, most people would not be willing to die for an upright person, though someone might perhaps be willing to die for a person who is especially good. But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners. And since we have been made right in God’s sight by the blood of Christ, he will certainly save us from God’s condemnation. For since our friendship with God was restored by the death of his Son while we were still his enemies, we will certainly be saved through the life of his Son. So now we can rejoice in our wonderful new relationship with God because our Lord Jesus Christ has made us friends of God.

And such a call is beyond the weakness of our flesh and pride. So Lord God our Redeemer and our strength,  you must do this in us and through us. Since this is who you would have us be. Help us to not resist your Holy Spirit and to willingly die to ourselves and be raised to life in you today.  Amen.