Matthew 5:43-48: a reflection

43“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ 44But I tell you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who mistreat you and persecute you, 45that you may be children of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the just and the unjust. 46For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Don’t even the tax collectors do the same? 47If you only greet your friends, what more do you do than others? Don’t even the tax collectors do the same? 48Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect.

Jesus gives one of his most challenging commands, one that goes beyond anything the natural heart would reach: love your enemies. You have heard that it was said, You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy, he says; but I tell you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who persecute you. And he grounds this command in the character of God the Father, who does good even to those who oppose him: he makes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the just and the unjust. To love only those who love us, Jesus says, is no more than anyone does; but to love our enemies, to do good to those who hate us, is to be like our Father, who is kind even to the ungrateful. Loving our enemies is how we reflect the Father, who does good to the evil and the good alike. To love only those who love us is easy and common; to love our enemies is to be children of the Father who loves the unlovely.

Notice the ground Jesus gives for loving our enemies: to be like the Father, who does good to all. He does not command us to love our enemies as an arbitrary hard demand; he grounds it in the character of God, who makes his sun rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the just and the unjust. God does good even to those who oppose him, who are ungrateful and wicked; and to love our enemies is to reflect that same generous, unmerited love. To love only those who love us, Jesus points out, is no achievement; even those without any faith do that. But to love our enemies, to do good to those who hate us, to pray for those who persecute us, is to be like our Father in heaven, whose love reaches even to the undeserving. This is a high calling, beyond the natural heart; but it is how we show ourselves children of the Father who loves the unlovely and does good to the ungrateful. To love our enemies is to reflect the generous, boundless love of God. It is the mark of children of the Father who loves all.

That is worth taking to heart, for we are called to love even our enemies, reflecting the Father who does good to the evil and the good alike. We can love those who love us, and hate those who oppose us, as comes naturally; but Jesus calls us to love our enemies, to do good to those who hate us, to pray for those who persecute us, reflecting the Father who sends sun and rain on the just and the unjust. To love only those who love us is no achievement; to love our enemies is to be like our Father. Do not love only those who love you and hate your enemies; love even your enemies, doing good to those who hate you, as your Father does good to the evil and the good alike. Love even your enemies, doing good to those who hate you and praying for those who persecute you, reflecting the Father who makes his sun rise on the evil and the good and sends rain on the just and the unjust, as Jesus commands; for to love only those who love us is no more than anyone does, but to love our enemies is to be children of the Father whose generous love reaches even to the undeserving and ungrateful, and this is the high calling by which we reflect his boundless love rather than the natural love that returns only what it receives.

Lord Jesus, you give one of your most challenging commands, one that goes beyond anything the natural heart would reach: love your enemies. You have heard that it was said, You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy, you say; but I tell you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who persecute you. And you ground this command in the character of the Father, who does good even to those who oppose him: he makes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the just and the unjust. To love only those who love us is no more than anyone does; but to love our enemies is to be like the Father. Show me the ground you give for loving our enemies: to be like the Father, who does good to all. You do not command us to love our enemies as an arbitrary hard demand; you ground it in the character of God, who makes his sun rise on the evil and the good. God does good even to those who oppose him, who are ungrateful and wicked; and to love our enemies is to reflect that same generous, unmerited love. To love only those who love us is no achievement; but to love our enemies is to be like the Father in heaven. This is a high calling, beyond the natural heart; but it is how we show ourselves children of the Father who loves the unlovely. Take that to my heart, for I am called to love even my enemies, reflecting the Father who does good to the evil and the good alike. I can love those who love me, and hate those who oppose me, as comes naturally; but you call me to love my enemies, to do good to those who hate me, to pray for those who persecute me. Keep me from loving only those who love me and hating my enemies; help me love even my enemies, Lord, doing good to those who hate me, as the Father does good to the evil and the good alike, that I may reflect his boundless love.