Sun 31 Jan

"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life" (John 3:16). One of the most well know and loved Bible verses in John 3:16 which speaks of God's love for the world. In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus calls His followers to love their enemies. It doesn't sound right to love those who are hurting us or done something wrong to us. In fact Jesus takes it further and instructs His followers to pray for those who persecute them. First, Jesus says love your enemies, then He says pray for them and then He says that in doing so you will be called sons of your Father in heaven. How will people recognize us as God's children - by the love we have toward our enemies. You might think Jesus has gone too far with His teaching. It would be impossible to keep with what Jesus has just given an instruction on. Have you ever paused to consider what would happen if God did not love His enemies? Would there be any Christians if God did not love His enemies? Romans 5:10 tells us that we were God's enemies. "For if, when we were God's enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son." If God did not love His enemies, which is us, would any of us be Christians? How did God love us? John 3:16 tells us that He sent His Son to die for us. Matthew 5:45 tells us that God sends the rain and the sun on both the evil and the good. If God so loved His enemies, how might we go and love our enemies, the one's who are opposed to us?