He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. 5: 43 “You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor 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. We were talking about a number of things at the end of class, and it is important to clarify that Jesus did say a similar thing about being kind to enemies, but He didn’t have the “burning coals” comment in the Sermon on the Mount where he said: There are quite a few of them, but take time to read them through to deeply understand the passage. After that I’ll make a few comments on the Proverbs source and following that, I’ll quote a number of interesting commentaries on the passage. Below is the passage and then following are the sources for Paul’s quote in the Old Testament. This is part of the overall section in Romans 12 where Paul is detailing how a Christian should live. Passage under discussion, Romans 12:17-21, what we’ll look at Following are some of the results I found. Though that is an understandable and possible conclusion, at the time I remarked that it seemed like a proverbial statement-that though that might happen, there is a difference between saying something might happen and that we should do something a certain way because of a possible outcome.Īs always I try to do additional homework on questions. It is this love that changes us to become loving.We have some great discussions in our Live Life by the Book Class and this week, after we were looking at the lesson on how we should treat those who are unkind to us, one of the class members asked if God was telling us to be kind so people would feel badly. We were an enemy to God and in Jesus Christ God loved us. Therefore, part of our response should be thankfulness at the mercy given at the cross where Jesus died a murderer’s death in our place. Without God initiating, we would not be changing or capable of really loving. It is God’s love that changes us to become loving. God decided to be good toward us when we had no interest in Him or regard for Him. Overcome evil not with more evil, but with goodness and love. Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good” (Romans 12:20–21). In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head. Paul says, “If your enemy is hungry, feed him if he is thirsty, give him something to drink. In the context of this passage, then, Jesus is saying that our love should be like the common grace of God. Right now in your mind, see the face of your enemy, the person who has done you the most harm, the most damage, the most evil, the most injustice, has caused the most grief, the most stress, the most anguish, the most strife, and Jesus says, “Love.” The call to love extends to every type of enemy we may face. So don’t be too quick to divide people up into neighbors and enemies. Jesus’ answer to the question, “Who is my neighbor?” in the Good Samaritan story of Luke 10:29–37 is that Samaritans are your neighbor. In Jesus’ day, the Jews had many enemies, such as the Romans and Samaritans. He says that loving our enemies means living like God the Father who “causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.” God is patient and long-suffering with all people, whether they are righteous or not (Exodus 43:6 Numbers 14:18). Verse 45 of Matthew 5 helps explain what Jesus means in verse 44. To love people who are enemies determined to harm you, and to pray for the people who have decided that their part-time job is to make your life miserable, will take a miracle from God to regularly practice. In a few simple words, Jesus captured a countercultural way of living that goes against our inclinations to throw gas on a fire and escalate a conflict. “But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.” Jesus in Matthew 5:44
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