Loving Inspite Of

Matthew 5:44 "But I say unto you,Love your enemies,bless them that curse you,do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you,and persecute you;"

The people of Jesus' day understood loving their neighbors,but they did not understand loving their enemies.To them it was alright to hate the enemies,but Jesus taught just the opposite.If someone is being mistreated,how can the hurting party show love?First of all,the love spoken of here is not ordinary fleshly love,but agape love,the unconditional love that defines who God is.Once a person receives and understands that kind of Love,it over flows into a endless love for others.

Jesus gave practical ways  to love the enemy,He said to bless them,pray for them and do them good.The Gospel in a word is Love.Unbelievers may turn their backs on what we say about Christ,but it's hard to resist the love of Christ.This Love is why Christ was willing to die to save us.His motive had nothing to do with the character of the people he died for.Isreal's worthless shepherds,her religious leaders,had successfully bargined with the Roman authorities for Christ death.A mob rejected Him,asking that they release to them a murder in Barabas.He was betrayed by His own for money,abandoned by others and even denied by one close to Him.Jesus was sworn at, spit upon,and made fun of.He was so badly beaten before He was finally nailed to the cross that he was almost unrecognizable.Yet he said "forgive them Father for they know not what they do".Paul explained the endless love of God this way;"When we were still powerless,Christ died for the ungodly."But God demonstarted his love for us in this:That While we were yet sinners,Christ died for Us."

Let us who profess to be like Christ display the same endless love to other that Christ shared with us. Let us now show the world what Christ looks like ,by allowing the world to see Christ through our lives.Got Jesus? Prove it , let me see him in your life...