Wednesday, June 29, 2005
Matthew 5:43-48
“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect. (ESV)
by Victoria Shephard
Verse 48 tells us to be perfect, as God is perfect. But is this even possible? I don’t know about you, but I can’t get through a single day without needing God’s forgiveness for something. Sometimes I can’t even get through a single hour. I am far from the ideal espoused here.
I think God knows we will never be perfect as long as we are living in this fallen world in these mortal bodies. Still, we are to reach for the unreachable, that we may come as close to it as possible.
Copyright Information
Daily Bible Meditations are taken from The Helping Hand,a Sabbath School student quarterly for youth and adults. Copyright © 2008, Seventh Day Baptist Board of Christian Education, Inc.
Scripture quotations marked "ESV" are taken from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. Copyright ©2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Text provided by the Crossway Bibles Web Service .
