Matthew 5:43-46. Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt LOVE thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy. But I say unto you, LOVE your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you; That ye may be the children of your father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust. For if ye LOVE them which LOVE you, what reward have ye? do not even the publicans do the same?
Oh People, it’s indeed an arduous task our leader, Jesus Christ has set us. An unnatural task for the human animal. ‘LOVE your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you;’ I can hear the long, low groan of disbelief, amazement and anger, all wrapped in one, that new believers emit on first hearing those words. It happens to a lot of old believers too, when faced with circumstances that require such action. The natural tendency then is for the mind to revolt against the heart. But Friends, that’s exactly what makes our Christian Faith different. That’s why Jesus sacrificed Himself; to make a difference; to initiate change. And the foundation, the bedrock of Christ’s philosophy is LOVE! If we seriously want to follow Him, then we’ve got to practice that trait, because loving only those who LOVE us has no reward, since even the biggest sinners and avid unbelievers do that too. Jesus said that showing LOVE to our enemies, makes us real children of our Heavenly Father. We all know that at times it’s much harder to LOVE than hate, but Friends, hate is such a wasteful, negative emotion that adds nothing constructive to our lives, just destroys relationships between individuals and societies that then leads to full scale war. And that unleashing of hate and destruction is happening right now like never before, with more dangerous weapons than ever. Although the papers this week had a picture of rival tribes in Kenya lining up to fight with bows and arrows. Oh Friends, our world has never needed practiced LOVE more than it does today. Valentines Day is this week, which means consumerism and the talk of LOVE will flourish. But how much real LOVE will that generate, or how long will it last eh? Not too long, is my guess. What we really need people is a LOVE Revival! A groundswell of real LOVE and appreciation for others, just rising up and taking over our hearts, our lives and our world. Okay, I know it sounds like an impossible dream. But isn’t that what dreams are about; thinking big, shooting for the extraordinary? And remember, with our God, nothing’s impossible. So Friends, let’s start a LOVE Revival Movement nuh, something like we had in the sixties; (smile) though not based on drugs and free sex, but on the words and lifestyle of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Let’s get serious people. If we’re to turn the tide, and rescue our world from imminent conflagration, we desperately need Much Much More LOVE! …note…the law of averages dictates…that if more people talk LOVE…more will actually walk LOVE…
Oh People, it’s indeed an arduous task our leader, Jesus Christ has set us. An unnatural task for the human animal. ‘LOVE your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you;’ I can hear the long, low groan of disbelief, amazement and anger, all wrapped in one, that new believers emit on first hearing those words. It happens to a lot of old believers too, when faced with circumstances that require such action. The natural tendency then is for the mind to revolt against the heart. But Friends, that’s exactly what makes our Christian Faith different. That’s why Jesus sacrificed Himself; to make a difference; to initiate change. And the foundation, the bedrock of Christ’s philosophy is LOVE! If we seriously want to follow Him, then we’ve got to practice that trait, because loving only those who LOVE us has no reward, since even the biggest sinners and avid unbelievers do that too. Jesus said that showing LOVE to our enemies, makes us real children of our Heavenly Father. We all know that at times it’s much harder to LOVE than hate, but Friends, hate is such a wasteful, negative emotion that adds nothing constructive to our lives, just destroys relationships between individuals and societies that then leads to full scale war. And that unleashing of hate and destruction is happening right now like never before, with more dangerous weapons than ever. Although the papers this week had a picture of rival tribes in Kenya lining up to fight with bows and arrows. Oh Friends, our world has never needed practiced LOVE more than it does today. Valentines Day is this week, which means consumerism and the talk of LOVE will flourish. But how much real LOVE will that generate, or how long will it last eh? Not too long, is my guess. What we really need people is a LOVE Revival! A groundswell of real LOVE and appreciation for others, just rising up and taking over our hearts, our lives and our world. Okay, I know it sounds like an impossible dream. But isn’t that what dreams are about; thinking big, shooting for the extraordinary? And remember, with our God, nothing’s impossible. So Friends, let’s start a LOVE Revival Movement nuh, something like we had in the sixties; (smile) though not based on drugs and free sex, but on the words and lifestyle of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Let’s get serious people. If we’re to turn the tide, and rescue our world from imminent conflagration, we desperately need Much Much More LOVE! …note…the law of averages dictates…that if more people talk LOVE…more will actually walk LOVE…
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