Saturday 4 Mar 2023

March 4: Matthew 5:43-48

Key Verse: Matthew 5:46
If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that?

Devotion:
One of the hardest things Jesus asked of us is to love our enemies; we are brought up in societies which tend to love the people close to you but reject and even hate the people on the other side of the fence! We can’t blame society for this because we are the root of society – if we dare to change the way we think, then society will change, given time...

Jesus wants us to be the start of that change, here and now so our children and descendants will be the ones who don’t have to think about who to love and hate, but will love everyone – that should be our goal! If we are all acting like the children of God we are supposed to be, then we will get along like a big family which God wants us to be. Yes I know people in families argue and get upset, and that is a part of life because we all make mistakes from time to time and those mistakes are going to upset someone along the way.

But if we can take a step back from those mistakes and learn a new way forward as people who care for each other, then wars and enemies will become less important and we will be able to live a better life. No matter whether we are as good as gold or as evil as anything else, we all live in the same world and are affected by the same things; be it earthquakes, floods, rain or sunshine. God’s world does not choose who to affect!

When we can see we are all people in the same world and start caring for human life instead of treating it like some sort of commodity, then we will be able to do more in life. It does not take a Christian to make the difference, but, as Christians we should be the ones leading the change so we can encourage others to do the same!

Points to Ponder:
How much do you value human life?

Will you set aside your habits to make a habit of caring for people?