“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, so that you may be sons of your Father in heaven. For 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 HCSB
We have all experienced situations where the “good guy” gets penalized in some way while the “bad guy” gets rewarded. Life is not fair. Many times people who seem to get all the breaks and financial rewards are living lives of sin, lies, and destruction. Those who are seemingly trying to live their lives for the Lord and do what is right are struggling and have problems. It appears that God is not fair and is rewarding people for their sins.
These Scriptures tell us that God sends sun and rain on the evil and the good. In that way, God is being fair. He is treating everyone with the same love and mercy. God loves everyone, including the worst of sinners. In God’s eyes the least of sinners is just as bad as the worst of sinners. We are all sinners and fall short of His glory. God desires to have a relationship with each of us. The problems of our world are a result of the sin of mankind. Because of God’s love He allows man the freedom of choice. If God took away our choice and made everything perfect and good then we would be no more than puppets on a string. Without bad we would not know what good is. He wants us to choose to love Him and to follow His guidelines but He will not force us to do so.
Challenge: These Scriptures teach us to love our enemies just as God loves His enemies. We are to pray for those who persecute us. Our human nature prompts us to seek revenge and hate our enemies. Pray that God would give you His Spirit of love and compassion even for your enemies and those who persecute you. Say a prayer for someone who has wronged you in some way.