Everybody Needs Rain
“You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 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.”
—Matthew 5:43-45
This hate filled world teaches us that love is a sign of weakness, yet when we consider the principles of Dr. Martin Luther King and many other civil rights warriors, we see that loves is actually a sign of strength. Who are your enemies, and how have they offended you, discouraged you, or caused you pain? It seems to me that Jesus knows what the natural response to all this will be; an for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth.
Christ encourages us to follow the example of God rather the example of man. And that example is treating everyone equally despite their reputation. There is nothing week about this at all, in fact it takes great courage to make yourself vulnerable enough to love those that you know hate you. Couldn’t your enemies use your love against you, couldn’t they stab you in the back when you approach them with an embrace?
Of course they could! Yet Jesus seems less interested in the ways that our enemies will respond to our love, but what he holds us accountable to is the way that we respond to their hate. This kind of love in the face of hate is impossible without faith in something greater than yourself.
I think the point Jesus makes here is the same point he always makes; and that is to teach us that the decision that directs our actions is the choice to put faith over fear. He answers the question, “What would God do?” God would allow rain, the source of life, to fall on those who love him and those who hate him. And as children reflect their father, so should we, who are God’s children through faith, seek to reflect our Heavenly Father; by loving our friends as well as our enemies.
Loving God,
You bless those who hate you and shower your blessings on those who do not appreciate them. Yet you love those who love you as well, and you ensure that they have no lack. Grant me the courage and the faith in you to follow you in this non-bias way of blessing. Help us all as we seek to love those who hate us, refusing to follow their ways but instead to choose to follow you. In Jesus Name, Amen!