[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 do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? [47] And if you greet only your brothers, 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.
Matthew 5:43-48
There can only be one cure for the human bias and racism in the heart of man and that is the Love of God. I write the love of God because no human love can endure long and never fail.
It is only and always by the power of the Holy Spirit working His love within our hearts that enables us to love the good and the evil in personalities.
Jesus gives us two very simple instructions here.
Love our enemies
Pray for our persecutors
And then we come to this “even as” standard once again, where Jesus tells us this habitual response reveals we are the children of God.
Jude reminds us to keep ourselves in the love of God praying in the Holy Spirit. There is no other way or resource that will enable us to remain steadfast in the face of evil and persecution except the enabling power of the Holy Spirit.
I personally believe a lifestyle of prayer is foundational for a person to display the love of God and the fruit of the spirit. If prayer is, and it is, a position of fellowship with the father that is first and foremost a union with his heart and mind, how can we become anything less than Him in that union? Again, Jude reminds us that it is our responsibility to keep ourselves in the love of God. We must go to the throne of Grace to receive mercy and find grace to help in the time of need. What greater need do we have than to remain in the love of God in the face of evil and persecution.
As I write this, David highlights from this scripture, Hebrews 4:16, the literal Greek does not say we find Grace to help ‘ourselves’. It could also mean that we find Grace that enables us to help someone else or Grace that will help someone else through our intercession on their behalf. Praying for another who has or is persecuting us, can become an open door for God to move into their life and change a heart.
Our issue is never loving the lovely, well, sometimes it is, but mostly it is carrying the heart and mind of God when it comes to those who represent evil and persecution.
From the beatitudes Jesus told us when we were persecuted we were to rejoice and be glad for our reward would be great in heaven. Our right response is vital to being perfect as our father is perfect.
Let’s examine this Greek word for perfect - teleios: meaning having reached its end,complete, by ext perfect, (a) complete in all its parts, (b) full grown, of full age, (c) specially of the completeness of Christian character.
Helps word studies:
Cognate: 5046 téleios (an adjective, derived from 5506 /télos, "consummated goal") – mature(consummated) from going through the necessary stages to reach the end-goal, i.e. developed into a consummating completion by fulfilling the necessary process (spiritual journey).
[This root (tel-) means "reaching the end (aim)." It is well-illustrated with the old pirate's telescope, unfolding (extending out) one stage at a time to function at full-strength (capacity effectiveness.
When the perfect comes the incomplete, the imperfect, the partial is done away with. Until that time we strive for the mark of the high calling found in Christ Jesus. From the book of Philippians, the Apostle Paul wrote he was not and had not achieved perfection but he pressed on to possess that perfection for which Christ Jesus first possessed him. This reminds us we have not attained that standard but we do press towards it. Desiring to be perfect and complete in all the will of God, we continue to grow up into Him in all things.