I am still processing the Sermon on the Mount. I have gone through the 25 posts and edited them for clarity and to revisit them for myself. Now I want to look at the applications I should be making for myself.
Jesus continues His teaching with some radical ideas in these verses. Radical even by today's standards. Loving people is fine. Love those you don't know. But love your enemies? Until we realize that God loved us while we were still sinners (Romans 5:8), this will not make sense. Jesus has spent quite a bit of time convincing us that we are sinners, that we fall short. I wonder what would happen if many preachers gave this kind of a sermon. Perhaps many would start looking for a new church, or he would have to start looking for a new job. That's a part of the problem with the church structure we have today.
Take Away: I need to see others through God's eyes, and not through my old, selfish eyes. That is hard! Especially when the offense is ongoing. It is one thing to be harmed and upset by that fact, and then the offending party apologizes. But when the offense continues, and you still have to forgive, you still have to pray for them. But that is being a reflection of the kind of love that God has for us. He not only loved us while we were still sinners, He continues to love us through our continuing sins and imperfections! Just imagine if God loved us the way that we often love others, we would be without hope! So when Jesus tells us that we should be perfect "as your heavenly Father is perfect, I don't believe that He is saying that once we are forgiven we then have to be perfect. I believe He is encouraging us to love perfectly as God loves us. That is still a tall order if taken to heart!
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