“For I say unto you, that EXCEPT your RIGHTEOUSNESS shall EXCEED THE RIGHTEOUSNESS OF THE SCRIBES AND PHARISEES, ye shall in NO CASE ENTER INTO THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN…” Matthew 5: 20 (Emphasis mine)
One of the most difficult recommendations by Jesus to kingdom citizens deals with our relationship with others. Our ability to love people is determined by the kind of relationship we have with them. Like Scribes and Pharisees, we can easily love our biological parents or siblings, friends, tribes’ men, church members and even members of our social clubs. But it is difficult to extend this same affection to people whom we deem to be our enemies. After all what the Law suggests is to love our neighbours and hate our enemies.
On the contrary, Jesus who is the Word of God personified, raised the bar from pharisaic level which makes it easier to love those whom we feel or know would love us in return, to the Christocentric dimension where love is demonstrated beyond the borders of selfishness. His recommendations are highly contradictory and difficult for most us just like the Pharisees. Let us analyze His statement in Matthew 5: 43-44 as we try to understand this new way of living in the kingdom of Heaven.
“You have heard that it was said (in the law), ‘You shall LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR and HATE YOUR ENEMY.’ But I say to you, LOVE YOUR ENEMIES, BLESS THOSE WHO CURSE you, DO GOOD TO those WHO HATE YOU, and PRAY FOR those who SPITEFULLY USE you and PERSECUTE YOU…” NKJV (Emphasis & insertion mine).
From the above scripture, there are four requirements that every kingdom citizen must endeavour to meet in order to authenticate our kingdom citizenship. These requirements are unusual but until we meet those requirements, our Christianity will end up in a fiasco. These requirements were not initiated by some prophet or an apostle, that we can say “Oh! He is just being unnecessarily emotional” but these were the words of Jesus himself.
We are to Love, bless, do good and pray for those whom we perceive to be our enemies. In effect, human beings are not to be considered as enemies. People hate us, spitefully use us and even persecute us not because they wanted to but there is something intrinsic that makes them behave that way. Apostle Paul caught this revelation and said in Ephesians 6:12, “For WE WRESTLE (fight) not AGAINST FLESH AND BLOOD (humans), but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.
We may have our own personal experience and reservations when it comes to dealing with people but our Lord and Master Jesus was emphatic on his statement. How we feel does not come in at all. Because we longer live for ourselves, we only live to please Him. Pleasing Him, comes with a reward that distinguishes us from the others. Let’s consider Matthew 5:45;
“that YOU MAY BE SONS OF YOUR FATHER 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…” NKJV (Emphasis mine).
The above scripture suggests that; when we learn and try to meet those requirements, our status as servants is elevated to the sonship of God. Our ability to love people without limitation is what ignites our divinity and authenticates our sonship to God. Being a child of God is not just a rhetoric. This is the lifestyle that distinguishes kingdom citizens from the Pharisees and scribes. Let’s consider Matthew 5:46-47;
“For if YOU LOVE THOSE WHO LOVE YOU, WHAT REWARD HAVE YOU? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? And if YOU GREET (Welcome, embrace or salute) YOUR BRETHREN ONLY, what do you do more than others? Do not even the tax collectors do so?”
If all we can do, is to love only those that can reciprocate what we give them then, the scribes and the Pharisees are far better than us. Because the tax collectors in the above scripture, were considered as the most corrupt people in that dispensation. Despite they being considered as the most corrupt or terrible sinners, they are better of than most us who tout ourselves with Christianity today. We cannot even demonstrate love amongst ourselves as a family, as a Christian community or the body of Christ. This kind of behaviour puts our identity as children of God into disrepute.
Beloved, let us not shroud ourselves with the grace mantra and continue to wallow in our failures as Christians. Indeed, we have been saved by grace through faith from the law. But remember that; grace is more demanding. It requires us to become living sacrifices. We cannot continue to sin for grace to abound. The crux of the whole kingdom righteousness is about demonstrating love above the level of pharisaic dimension to the Christocentric. Let us learn to live the kingdom righteousness assigned to us. Love is the driving force to fulfilling all righteousness. Loving God and loving people is all righteousness fulfilled and nothing more! (Matthew 22:35-40). God bless us all.
PRAY WITH ME
Lord Jesus, I thank you this day for my life. From this day forward, I have resolved in my heart love without selectiveness. Holy Spirit, please guide me and help me to live this life righteousness. This I pray in the precious name of Jesus! Amen!
Author: REV. SOLOMON LUTTERODT