How can we be perfect? This weekend Pastor Steve Andres continued our (Re)FORMATION series with a message about loving our enemies.
Matthew 5:43-45
You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your Father in heaven.
After Jesus revises the way we respond to our enemies, he points us to how we can most resemble our Father in heaven. Jesus points us to at least three truths.
1) The law of reciprocity is the way the world operates.
It is human nature to love only those who love us, and to lash out at those who hurt us. But retaliation most often leads to escalation, with more and more hurt.
2) The law of love is the way God operates.
People reject God’s instructions because they won’t trust who He is. If we understand God’s love for sinners, we know that he aims to save both victim and perpetrator.
3) You are never more like your heavenly Father than when you love your enemies.
When we love our enemies and bless those who persecute us, we bear a striking resemblance to our Father in heaven. We are never closer to perfection than when we imitate God in this way.
Romans 5:10
For if, while we were God’s enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life!
We can’t TRY hard enough to live like this. Our hearts have to be TRANSFORMED to live like this. And that is what the Good News about Jesus does in us!
