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THIS WEEK’S BIBLE INSIGHTS ARE BY:
Steve Maltz and are based on Matthew 5:43 - 6:4 (NIV)
IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO READ MORE ON THIS WEEK’S MAJOR THEME:
Romans 12:9-16
43 “You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbour 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.
1 “Be careful not to practise your righteousness in front of others, to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven.
2 So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honoured by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. 3 But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, 4 so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.”
Sunday January 19 - Loving enemies
“Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your Father in heaven.” Matthew 5:44-45
Now this must be one of the biggest stumbling blocks for we Christians – wonderful in theory but a challenge in practice, to say the least. It will help our perspective if we consider Jesus’ intention regarding the Sermon on the Mount as a whole. The principles he teaches are not a set of laws – they are an expression of the kingdom of God, this new place that we inhabit. Jesus came to found a kingdom, not a school; to institute a fellowship, not to propound a system. This concept was as new to those who first heard it as it is to us living today. These are not goals to achieve, but an expression of how we should act as a people in relationship with Jesus himself. Yes, this is new and very challenging, but vital for us if we are to live in this new kingdom.
Loving our neighbour may be difficult, but loving our enemies... what’s going on here? It’s not really within our power to do this unless we are in relationship with them. As children we take our parents as role models, as examples of how to act in the world. As children of God we take Jesus as our role model. We act as he acts, and how he expects us to act. This is not going to be easy, but it is very worthwhile.
Father in heaven, please give me the ability and desire to love my enemies. Amen.
PRAYER FOR TODAY
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