“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. For if you love those who love you, what reward have you? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet your brethren only, what do you do more than others? Do not even the tax collectors do so? Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect. Matthew 5: 43-48, NKJV.
Our Father and our God, as we come into Your presence today, we come seeking to be like You. We were created in Your image and we want to be more like You. Please help us to find the way, as we study Your Word today. In the holy name of Jesus, the Christ, we humbly pray. Amen.
I made a detour from our study of Psalm 33 for today. I felt impressed to meditate on this portion of Scripture instead. For the past two or three days we have been observing how God takes care of those who are in a covenant relationship of love with Him. I want to remind us all, that even though safety is found by, dwelling “in the secret place of the Most High” and “abiding under the shadow of the Almighty” (Psalm 91: 1), God loves us all.
At times, it would seem as if we Christians believe that we have a monopoly on God’s love. We tend to equate God’s manner of loving, to ours. But it is really the other way around – God has asked us to love one another the way He has loved us! That is the trademark of a true Christian. That is the resemblance we bear with our Father in heaven! Listen to some of Jesus’ closing words to His disciples: “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another” (John 13: 34, 35, NKJV). Emphasis supplied.
We spend a lot of time debating over the concept of, “being perfect” as our heavenly Father is perfect, and from the very beginning, He showed us how. It would be helpful for us to understand that we are not God. However, our highest goal is to be like Him. Another helpful thought is that, we were created in His image and likeness (Genesis 1: 26-28). Therefore, “godliness, “godlikeness” are attainable goals (Education, pg. 18)! A third thought is, by His grace, we are to “walk as He walked” (1 John 2: 6).
Our Scripture for today has a clear-cut concept of godliness. It means to live like Christ, and not how we are inclined to live, by virtue of our “fallen nature.” It means allowing Christ to teach us how to surrender our will to Him, and allow Him to live His perfect life in us (Galatians 2: 20). It means dying to what I want to do, and living in accordance with what Christ wants me to do. This requires grace all through the process! For Jesus said, ” ‘ “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness” ‘ ” (2 Corinthians 12: 9)!
May God help us to take hold of that grace that is freely offered, today. Then it can truly be said of us, “like Father – like child!”