Matthew 5:34-35–"You have heard that it was said, 'You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.' But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is 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."
This is one of the many offensive statements Jesus makes, exhorting us to love our enemies and to pray for those who persecute us. It would seem that Jesus expects a totally different sort of ethic for Christians, an altogether other way to live life and relate to those around us. Needless to say, to love your enemy is hard enough but to pray for those who would persecute us–well, that is just plain ridiculous. However, Jesus doesn't end there: He follows that statement up with another bomb–so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. In a real sense, Jesus is indicating that we are to love our enemies and pray for those who persecute us in order that we may be sons of our heavenly Father; as in, it is through our love that our parentage is proven or made secure. Let us, then, take this exhortation as seriously as it is given so as to make our election and our inheritance sure.
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