Matters of the Heart

Matthew 5:43-45
43 Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbor, and hate thine enemy.
44 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;
45 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.

Do you remember the saying, “sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me?” I remember that saying growing up, but the older I have become I realize the saying is not true. Words do hurt and they have the power to scar you for life. Has someone ever said something hurtful to you? Every time you think about it the thought of it makes you cringe. You can still hear the words reverberating in your ears as if they were just spoken. How do you deal with the pain of your past in the present? Maybe the pain isn’t from your past, but it is a fresh wound that you so desperately want to go away. What do you do when you are trying to move forward but the pain from the words someone spoke to you is holding you captive?

In the fifth chapter of Matthew Jesus is preaching the sermon on the mount to his disciples. He covers many issues throughout the sermon. I personally think the issue in this section overshadows all of the other issues. He addresses the issue of love. The word love is one of the most misused words in the English vocabulary. One of the things Jesus wanted his disciples to understand is the principle of love. Love is a word of action. The way love is determined is by our actions. In the same breath Jesus mentioned love, He mentioned hate and enemies. The true measure of love is when one is confronted by an individual exhibiting hateful and oppositional behavior. How do you handle it? Ones response to hateful and oppositional behavior determines if an individual possesses love.

We have to always remember we are not responsible for what others do to us, but how we respond to them. Don’t allow the hatred and evilness of another to hold you captive. In the words of Reuben the hurricane Carter who was wrongly incarcerated “Hate locked me up, but Love is going to bust me out.” I challenge you to be patient with others who act in an immature manner. Allow your love to go as far as it has to go to rescue someone from their ignorance and hatred.

God bless you and keep you is my prayer.