DECEMBER 5
LOVE YOUR ENEMIES
Matthew 5:44-45
44 But I tell you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who mistreat you and persecute you, 45 that you may be children of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the just and the unjust. (WEB)
Our Heavenly Father is the kindest and most loving Person in the universe. There is not a single person on Earth whom He does not love with all His heart. In His goodness, He causes the sun to rise on both the good and the bad. In His mercy, He sends rain to water the earth for both the just and the unjust.
It is hard for us to imagine the enormous breadth of God's love. How can He love those who hate Him? Although this idea is tough for us to understand with our human minds, the more we are filled with His love, the better we will be able to understand it.
In today's Bible passage, Jesus explains that we can love our enemies because we have the love of our Heavenly Dad in our hearts. The more His love fills every part of us, the more we will become like Jesus, who is the perfect image of our Father (Hebrews 1:3).
My prayer today is that God's love would wash over all of us, granting us the grace and love to extend that same gift to others... even if they don't deserve it. In doing so, we will simply be like our Father.
Ephesians 3:14-21
14 For this cause, I bow my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, 15 from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, 16 that he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, that you may be strengthened with power through his Spirit in the inward man; 17 that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; to the end that you, being rooted and grounded in love, 18 may be strengthened to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, 19 and to know Christ’s love which surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. 20 Now to him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, 21 to him be the glory in the assembly and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever. Amen. (WEB)
44 But I tell you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who mistreat you and persecute you, 45 that you may be children of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the just and the unjust. (WEB)
Our Heavenly Father is the kindest and most loving Person in the universe. There is not a single person on Earth whom He does not love with all His heart. In His goodness, He causes the sun to rise on both the good and the bad. In His mercy, He sends rain to water the earth for both the just and the unjust.
It is hard for us to imagine the enormous breadth of God's love. How can He love those who hate Him? Although this idea is tough for us to understand with our human minds, the more we are filled with His love, the better we will be able to understand it.
In today's Bible passage, Jesus explains that we can love our enemies because we have the love of our Heavenly Dad in our hearts. The more His love fills every part of us, the more we will become like Jesus, who is the perfect image of our Father (Hebrews 1:3).
My prayer today is that God's love would wash over all of us, granting us the grace and love to extend that same gift to others... even if they don't deserve it. In doing so, we will simply be like our Father.
Ephesians 3:14-21
14 For this cause, I bow my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, 15 from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, 16 that he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, that you may be strengthened with power through his Spirit in the inward man; 17 that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; to the end that you, being rooted and grounded in love, 18 may be strengthened to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, 19 and to know Christ’s love which surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. 20 Now to him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, 21 to him be the glory in the assembly and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever. Amen. (WEB)