The scripture from Mathew 5:48 points to deeper world in Christ. What is it to be perfect? It means to be similar to God. What is to be fruitful? What is it to become a fruit of righteousness? It means to become a person of love. He told us to be perfect as God is perfect. We can be perfect in Love. Agape Love. When we follow and be like the Love of God, we become perfect. The previous old Law was equivalence. Equivalence is a one on one relationship. If another person is nice to me, I will be nice to that person (Exodus 21:24). With this kind of relationship, a beautiful world cannot come. Loving the one that loves you is something everyone's supposed to do. That may be the love of the Humanly World. But what is the Grace and Love of Jesus Christ? It is Loving them even if they hate me. He was Lord who prayed for those that hated him. He prayed, "They do not know what they are doing so please forgive them." He is Lord who loved his enemies with his whole life. The love of God is not a one to one equivalence. It is not conditional. It is not, "if"- Forgiveness is not a conditional love. The love of men may be conditional but the Love of God is Agape Love. It is, "Even though they may hate me, even so, even if..." When we pay back hatred with hatred, the chain of evil cannot be broken. The case that won and broke the chain of hatred and evil was the Cross. Jesus is the one that broke the evil circle of hatred and revealed the work of God. That is why it is not that I receive because I loved. It was not my own effort or work. I did not buy it with money. It is not a buying and selling relationship. I received it all freely. It was a Gift, an unexpected gift, surprising news. People of God who have become the disciples of Christ, it was said "you have heard that you should hate your enemies but I tell you this: Love your enemies." Overcome hatred with greater love. Swallow up hatred. We must open up the history of love.
This precise one to one culture in the world is not the culture of Christ. We must know the Grace of God. When we realize the Grace of God and become touched and electrified by it, then the world can change. Even tax-collectors can love the one that loves them because that is what will obviously do. Loving the ones that hate you is an important task. When this is applied to our lives, everything will surely change. When Jacob was trying to go and meet and reconcile with his brother Esau in Genesis 32:22-32, the angel stopped him. But he changed the obstructer into the one who blesses him. We must remember this.
We need to follow Jesus way as our role model. The path Christ walked and lived, we must know this love and go on with it. God shines his light on both the evil and good. God has no discrimination. One of the most important wickedness in us is discrimination. We must go one step further. We must be like the sunlight that shines even on the evil.
If we carefully observed the image of Christ, How was it? If we look at Luke 17:11-19, Jesus healing the ten lepers was a shocking incident. As lepers are usually isolated from the society. And moreover, only one came back to thank him. Jesus didn't heal them expecting all will come and thank him. He healed them out of unconditional perfect love that was in him similar to that of father which gives rain to good and evil. Jesus held and embraced these people. He cleansed them and he washed them. Many disciples were also spiritually lepers, like tax collectors and prostitutes, who were filthy in love. However, Jesus embraced them all without questioning their sins and dined with them. Seeing this world of love, Mary gave her most precious thing to the Lord in John 12:1-8, looking at that loving act, Judah said it was a waste. We are like this. We can be close but distant and we can be distant but go on with one heart. The problem of the people of God is that they do not respond to the love of God. God loved Adam so much but Adam left and abandoned God. But the amazing love revealed through Jesus is that although God abandoned him, he said, "Do as your will, not mine." When this world opens up the world will change. True peace is where there is grace. This world is unconditional love.
In other words, Jesus is proclaiming, you, the people of God, ones who are to open a new era... Love your enemies. When this message is fulfilled in us and we obey this commandment, we can truly become the Lord's disciples. We can truly establish the beautiful Kingdom of God. Looking at the Word of Jesus who fulfilled the Law, looking at the Word of our Lord who opened up a new righteousness and new history surpassing the Law, I wish that this messages will be the foundation and the model for our lives.
This precise one to one culture in the world is not the culture of Christ. We must know the Grace of God. When we realize the Grace of God and become touched and electrified by it, then the world can change. Even tax-collectors can love the one that loves them because that is what will obviously do. Loving the ones that hate you is an important task. When this is applied to our lives, everything will surely change. When Jacob was trying to go and meet and reconcile with his brother Esau in Genesis 32:22-32, the angel stopped him. But he changed the obstructer into the one who blesses him. We must remember this.
We need to follow Jesus way as our role model. The path Christ walked and lived, we must know this love and go on with it. God shines his light on both the evil and good. God has no discrimination. One of the most important wickedness in us is discrimination. We must go one step further. We must be like the sunlight that shines even on the evil.
If we carefully observed the image of Christ, How was it? If we look at Luke 17:11-19, Jesus healing the ten lepers was a shocking incident. As lepers are usually isolated from the society. And moreover, only one came back to thank him. Jesus didn't heal them expecting all will come and thank him. He healed them out of unconditional perfect love that was in him similar to that of father which gives rain to good and evil. Jesus held and embraced these people. He cleansed them and he washed them. Many disciples were also spiritually lepers, like tax collectors and prostitutes, who were filthy in love. However, Jesus embraced them all without questioning their sins and dined with them. Seeing this world of love, Mary gave her most precious thing to the Lord in John 12:1-8, looking at that loving act, Judah said it was a waste. We are like this. We can be close but distant and we can be distant but go on with one heart. The problem of the people of God is that they do not respond to the love of God. God loved Adam so much but Adam left and abandoned God. But the amazing love revealed through Jesus is that although God abandoned him, he said, "Do as your will, not mine." When this world opens up the world will change. True peace is where there is grace. This world is unconditional love.
In other words, Jesus is proclaiming, you, the people of God, ones who are to open a new era... Love your enemies. When this message is fulfilled in us and we obey this commandment, we can truly become the Lord's disciples. We can truly establish the beautiful Kingdom of God. Looking at the Word of Jesus who fulfilled the Law, looking at the Word of our Lord who opened up a new righteousness and new history surpassing the Law, I wish that this messages will be the foundation and the model for our lives.
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