Title: Love and Perfection / Matthew 5:38-48
Content When talking about one of the characteristics of a person, it is said that a person is an imperfect being. In fact, yes. People are anxious. Knowing also has its limits. It also has limitations. You cannot and cannot know everything. Not enough.
But when we look at the Bible, God does not rebuke us because of our shortcomings. He does not scold. He does not rebuke us for our lack of technology.
It's just that God sees us as lacking. It rebukes and rebukes us for not living the life we love like God, and rebukes us for sinning because of this.
In today's text, the Lord is speaking.
“Therefore be perfect, even as your Father in heaven is perfect.”
In this verse, God has told us to be perfect. We can do this because it is a command from God. God does not command us to do what we cannot do. When we look at these attributes of God, we can see that although we are insecure human beings, we have the ability to be perfect.
When Jesus said in the text, “Be ye perfect as your Father in heaven is perfect,” he is not saying that you must be omnipotent like God. It does not mean that you, like God, must work miracles and perform miracles. What Jesus is talking about here is talking about our acts of love. Therefore, what he is saying here is that our love must be perfect as the love of God.
So what kind of love is perfect love? What kind of love can you hear from God saying, “You have made perfect love”?
The answer is in the text.
The first is love.
The object to be given in the text does not mean to give to a friend. I am not talking about giving to a loved one. Anyone can give to a friend or loved one. The word “give” here is to give to those who need revenge in the eyes of ordinary unbelievers. Of course, you are talking about giving to someone who should be hated.
The specific person mentioned in the text is this person. He is the one who slaps me on the right cheek (39). Someone who covets my underwear (40). A person who makes you do things you don't want to do (41). A person who ejaculates for a loan (42). All of these people are worldly people to be accused of.
But Jesus commanded such a man to give. He said that anyone who wants to hit the right cheek should also turn the left cheek. He said to give even outerwear to those who covet underwear. He told me to go 10 li if I force the duck to go. He told me not to refuse anyone who wants to borrow.
This is a command from Jesus that is completely different from our thoughts.
If we silently meditate on this command, the point of Jesus' words is one thing. It is giving. Who are you giving it to? Even if I hate someone, I give it to him. Even if you don't like it, you give it to him.
The second is prayerful love.
The second kind of love Jesus spoke of is prayerful love.
Look at verse 44.
He said, "I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you."
What these verses teach us is to pray for our enemies in a way that we love them.
This is not easy. But Jesus told us to do it. And so did Jesus.
Jesus saw a man tying himself to the cross to be crucified. And I saw them crucify themselves. Not only that, but now I see them sharing their belongings with each other. In particular, I saw her casting lots to share the robe she had woven.
Usually, sinners curse at such a person who nailed them while dying on the cross. Curse.
But Jesus gave them love. I prayed for them. So, what is the content of Jesus' prayer for them?
He said, "Father, forgive their sins, for they do not know what they are doing."
Jesus prayed for his enemies on the cross. As I read this prayer, I thought of this. The sins of these people who crucified Jesus were great, but if God had answered Jesus' prayer, wouldn't God have forgiven them? But in fact, I don't even know if he forgave me.
We must pray. There are people who learned this prayer of Jesus and prayed the same prayer.
That person is Stephen from the book of Acts. He shared the gospel of Christ with his people. However, his people did not accept the Jesus that Stevan preached. Instead, he threw stones at Stevan. In the end, Stevan was struck by the stones they threw to the brink of death. As Stephen prayed to God, he saw the heavens opened and the Lord was standing at the right hand of God.
Stephen prayed like this.
“Lord, do not hold this sin against them” (Acts 7:59).
This kind of praying for the enemy who kills them was repeated many times as the missionaries preached the gospel in the mission field.
Even in Korea, a person like Mappet, who preached the gospel to Pyongyang, was stoned by a local gangster named Ki-poong Lee, who broke his forehead and left his chin. At this time, he went to the temple and prayed earnestly for this thug and for the nation. And when Ki-poong Lee was imprisoned, he went to the coffin, received a special envoy, and freed him from prison.
After not winning this kind of love, I believed in Jesus and went to seminary. Then, as a missionary, he went to Jeju Island to preach the gospel.
This is praying for your enemies.
Third, greet each other
In verse 47, we read, “And if you greet only your brothers, what do you do more than others? Are not the Gentiles like this?”
What does this word mean? This verse is about living in good relationship with each other. Relationships with people are very important in our life. But we can have relationships with our brothers and with people we know. But it's not easy to have relationships with people you hate, and people who bully you as sinners.
As I listened to their conversation, I felt like I was in another world.
This is the text. This is fellowship. If we greet only the people we like and those we respect, what kind of evangelism and gospel work will be done here.
So I want to tell you. Fellowships should be maintained between brothers and sisters. You need to grow more. And let's continue to expand our tent site, that is, the place of socialization. Whether this person is a sinner or a neighbor, it continues to expand. Then, when the time comes, that person will see us and come to know the Gospel through us.
Jesus says: Therefore, by doing these things, "Be ye perfect, even as your Father who is in heaven is perfect."
We cannot be whole in another day. However, it can be transmitted to all of these loving things. It's not because I'm perfect. Because the perfect Lord is with us who love us. That's why Tolstoy said, "Where there is love, there is God." Where we love, then, God will be with us and will accompany us. Because of this fact of God's presence, we can be whole in those moments of love. Therefore, let us become full saints through love.
Hallelujah !!