Saturday 6th April
Read Matthew 5:43-48
“‘You have heard that it was said, “Love your neighbour 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. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.46 If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that?47 And if you greet only your own people, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that?48 Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.” (NIVUK)
Many people read this final clause and consider it so far out of reach as to be absurd. The thoughts of J Ligon Duncan are useful to ponder though…
“Matthew Henry once said, “Christianity is more than humanity. We know more than others. We talk more the things of God than others. We profess more than others. We have been promised more than others. God has done more for us and therefore He justly expects more from us than of others. He calls on us to love the unlovable.” And isn’t that exactly what Christ is saying in verse 48? When He says, “You are to be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect” Christ is not saying that a person can attain perfection in this life. You remember, it’s the same Christ who’s going to teach us to pray, “Forgive us our sins, forgive us our debts, forgive us our trespasses,” who tells us to ‘be perfect as our heavenly Father is perfect.’ Christ is not expecting us to achieve perfection in this life, or He would not have given us that clause in the Lord’s Prayer which asks God to forgive us! No, Christ is saying, ‘Have the same kind of all embracing love that your heavenly Father has.’”
The standard is set. There is no excuse for not aiming at it. The direction and the intent is the expression of perfection in our lives.
