Matthew 5:43-48
43 “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ 44 But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 45 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. 46 For if you love those who love you, what reward have you? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? 47 And if you salute only your brethren, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? 48 You, therefore, must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.”
In verse 43, Jesus corrects what the Jews believe about hating the enemy. This kind of thinking is threaded all throughout the Old Testament. Verse 44 and 45 explains how God acts toward good and evil people. He does good toward them. This is observable in the real world for God does not strike down anyone. (That’s Old Testament theology). Verse 46-47 asks what reward do we have? The reward of loving the enemy is that the enemy may be converted by love unto love. It happens all the time. Verse 48 says be perfect as our Father is perfect. What does it mean to be perfect then? “Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.” That is the conduct that we are called to. In Jesus’s response to his own persecution we can witness God’s perfection. He does not kill. He does not steal. He does not turn away from God. He forgives. He prays for forgiveness for his persecutors. He shows that he is a Son of God.
This is how we are to respond to evil. Endurance. Forgive. Pray for God to forgive and have mercy. If we do these things, we can be called children of God for this is how God responds to evil. We are Christians. It is a tall order, no doubt. Many, many people do not consider this the perfect God. They spit in his face and slap him. “Where is your God now?”, they mock, but we say “Remember me when you come into your Kingdom.”