Tough Love! It is your calling Christian!
You know, we talk so much about being like God that I almost think that such a phrase may be in danger of becoming cliche. I don't mean to sound negative, but as I read these last few verses of Matthew 5 I was cut to the core. Many times I have heard and have even used Matthew 5 to tell people about God's standard for a works righteousness. Well I have realized that this is not what this verse means at all. Oh, it is a much harder statement. The word perfect means to be whole or complete. So what is Jesus saying. Jesus is saying that you must have a complete approach to your relationships with people. Sounds easy huh? Yea easy with those you agree with or those who treat you right or at least the way you want to be treated. But what about people that don't. What about people who seek to harm you, to malign you. What about those who drive you nuts and you cannot stand to be around. You see, not so easy. I do not believe that Jesus is calling for a works perfection in this passage, but one of the truest evidences that you truly know the Lord is that you are continually being conformed to his image, living, thinking, and feeling the way he does toward all areas of life in increasing measure. How will the world know of the great love of God. By you as you continually look more and more like God and less like the world . And the world sees one of the greatest declarations of who God is when we not only love and do good to those who do the same to us, but when we love and do good to those who hate us, who spit on us, who malign our names, who steal from us, and who do every other evil against us. I mean what greater testimony of our God, for we must realize that God loved us even when we stole from him, spit on him, maligned his name, hated him, and did every other evil in the cause of not wanting to have anything to do with God. For God demonstrates his own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us (Romans 5:8).
