In the fifth chapter of Matthew, we find several perversions of the Law by the Jewish leaders, both past and present.  They perverted what the Law taught concerning killing, adultery, divorce, swearing, and retaliation.  In Matthew 5:43-48, we find yet another perversion, this time in the area of love.  They never revealed their deficiency in the area of righteousness more than in their shallow view of the command to love their neighbors.  They believed they must love only their neighbor, but it was okay to hate their enemies.  The passage used to support their claim was Leviticus 19:18,  but it said nothing about hating enemies.   Notice what the Law said:

Leviticus 19:18 (KJV)
¹⁸ Thou shalt not avenge, nor bear any grudge against the children of thy people, but thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself: I am the LORD.

These Jewish leaders made two mistakes.  First, they assumed that because God did not say anything about loving enemies, it was okay to hate them.  Second, they misunderstood who their neighbor was, concluding that it was only a close friend or a fleshly relative.  Thus, their interpretation of the Law was that one only had to love those to whom they were close.

Many people today feel the same way, even some members of the body of Christ.  Some conclude that they will only love those who love them back, but Jesus set the record straight in Matthew 5:43-48.  He teaches us to love, not only those who love us, but also our enemies, even praying for those who persecute us (Matthew 5:44).

This may be one of the hardest commands of the Bible.  The question is, how can we possibly love an enemy?  The answer—by making up our minds that we are going to do it.  The love under consideration here is agape love.  It is the highest love that can be achieved, being a description of God Himself (1 John 4:7-10).  When was it that God sent His Son to die for us?  Paul tells us it was when we were God’s enemies (Romans 5:6-11).  If God loved us when we were His enemies, then we, too, can love our enemies.

Loving our enemies is possible because agape is a reasoned choice that involves always acting in the best interest of others.  We may not want to do this, but we can if we choose to do so.  We can always act in the best interest of our neighbors, even if that neighbor happens to be an enemy who sometimes mistreats us or someone we love.

Why should we as Christians go beyond what is the natural thing to do and love our enemies?  Jesus gives us the answer.  In the end, it is because we want to be like God.  This should be the goal of every Christian.  I am not talking about having the power of God.  That is not possible.  We will never be like God in power, strength, or knowledge.  God will always be superior to us because He is the Creator, and we are His creation.  He will always be in charge, having all authority, and we will always have the responsibility to obey Him.  However, we should always do our best to develop the moral character of God.  This must be our aim in life; the mark that we are pressing toward.

Can we be like God in every way? No, but we can be like Him in love.  We can love the same way that He does.  We can learn to love our fellow man regardless of his behavior or actions toward us.  Jesus reminds us that to love in a way less than that is to do no more than the publicans do.  Let us strive to do better when it comes to love.

As you wind down for the night, think on these things.