Matthew 5:43-48
“Notice what you notice.” Another day of “Jesus said it, how can I disagree?”! Today’s first verse says You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy. I wondered about the “hate your enemy” part; I couldn’t recall ever seeing that. Then one of my Study Bibles had a note – that phrase is found nowhere in the OT. I guess it must have been common usage in Jesus’ time.
In verse 46 Jesus reminds us that the sun and rain do not discriminate between the evil and the good. Even beyond that, we know in our hearts that God loves each and every one of His children, both the evil and the good. So should we also! However, it is all too common within my soul that I feel “scorn” toward certain people, for who they are or what they’ve done. Jesus would say that I should pray for them all the more. How does one do that when, in reality, I wish the worst for them instead of the best? Wretched man that I am… (Romans 7:24).
Slava Bohu!