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)
We tend to show partiality. Yes, we do. Jesus points that out clearly. Most of us, most of the time, are not moved with Christlike compassion. We look at people for how we can mutually benefit one another. God is not like that. He sends the rain on both those who are right with Him and those that are not. This is not to say that He does not give special blessings to His own people, but that He at least starts with a level playing field. We should always love - do what is best for others - no matter what it cost us (Jesus did!) We should be respectful of others as fellow human beings (sinful, just like us!). We should be... perfect? Holy??? Impossible?!? What Jesus is saying is that we need to look to God for our example of how to respond to others - not them. Stop being partial. Treat others with love like God. Treat them with respect. Give them a chance. Let Jesus take over and shine through you.
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