You have heard that it was said, ‘Eye for eye and tooth for tooth.’ But I tell you not to resist an evil person. … 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, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven. Matthew 5:38, 43-44
This teaching of Yeshua is one of the most widely known yet least practiced of all of his precepts. This is because it is non-intuitive and frankly, difficult.
Yeshua never lost the perspective that people are made in God's image and that all are deserving of the benefit of the doubt when a situation may look otherwise. He could love his enemies and pray for them because he knew who they really were, even if they didn't.
If we could allow God to change our perspective to see that all others are made in God's image and are merely souls who have possibly not yet met the God of the universe, we might have a different approach in our dealings with them. This type of perspective can provide us the inward motivation of love and forgiveness necessary to accomplish the outward actions which will likely seem just as contradictory when we do them.
Here are some helpful timestamps of the main points in today's episode:
01:33 Actions begin in the heart
03:33 Peter's struggle with unceasing forgiveness
04:24 Love and forgiveness are tied together
06:44 Actions based on our heart perspective
07:40 Double-goodness overcomes evil intent
09:31 This principle in the first century congregations
11:48 Mimicking Yeshua and our heavenly Father
13:33 Summary
If you enjoyed this week's podcast, be sure to visit coreofthebible.org to join the conversation through comments or reading daily blog posts on these topics. The Core of the Bible is all about the message of the Bible reduced to its simplest form, that is, the principles of the Ten Commandments and the Sermon on the Mount.
Have questions about today's topic, or comments or insights you would like to share? Perhaps you have found this podcast helpful or encouraging. If so, I would love to hear from you and include listener comments in future episodes, so feel free to email me at coreofthebible@gmail.com.
Thanks for your interest in listening today!
All music in today's episode: Brittle Rille by Kevin MacLeod
Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/3460-brittle-rille
License: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license
MORE INFO:
Visit the blog articles and full podcast archive at: coreofthebible.org
Email questions or comments to Steve at: coreofthebible@gmail.com
MUSIC:
All music in today's episode: "Brittle Rille" by Kevin MacLeod
Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/3460-brittle-rille
