Matthew 5:43-48
43 “You have
heard that it was said, You must love
your neighbor and hate your enemy. 44 But I say to you,
love your enemies and pray for those who harass you 45 so that
you will be acting as children of your Father who is in heaven. He makes the
sun rise on both the evil and the good and sends rain on both the righteous and
the unrighteous. 46 If you love only those who love you, what
reward do you have? Don’t even the tax collectors do the same? 47 And
if you greet only your brothers and sisters, what more are you doing? Don’t
even the Gentiles do the same? 48 Therefore, just as your
heavenly Father is complete in showing love to everyone, so also you must be
complete. [1]
Reflection:
I love a
good adventure movie or action movie.
It doesn't matter if it is sci-fi, historical, or modern. One of the
things that helps the movie plot move along is the antagonist or the
villain. Someone is trying to stop
the main character or hero from reaching their goal. Through this, we have
someone to cheer for (yay!) and someone to hate (boo!). The antagonist becomes our enemy and we
begin to wish them harm. We love to boo down a good villain. However, sometimes
in our own lives we are the hero and whoever hurts us or makes things difficult
for us becomes the villain, our enemy.
It becomes really hard to like these people, even more difficult to love them. Yet, that is exactly what
Jesus teaches us to do. He reminds us that God created all of us and if we only
love the people we like or that like us, then we are missing out on God's
complete love.
Reflection Questions:
Morning: How can I show grace to those who wish me harm?
Morning: How can I show grace to those who wish me harm?
Noon: How can I demonstrate love to those that make life harder.
Evening: In what ways did I
succeed in love today and where can I make amends when I failed?
Prayer: Lord, help me to forgive
those who would be my enemy. Help me to reflect your love and respond with
grace. In Jesus name, Amen.
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