Bible
Study: 1 Kings 21, 17 to 29 and Matthew 5, 43 to 48.
Jesus concludes our Gospel
passage this morning by saying: “You must be perfect, as your heavenly Father
is perfect.” Perfection is something that is written in the DNA of every human
being. Having being created by a perfect God, there is an inherent desire and
drive within each of us for perfection.
Whatever we do, we want to
be the best in it. That is why we are never satisfied whenever we see someone who
has more than we do or is able to do what we are unable to do. It is because of
this drive for perfection that the word “competition” exist in the dictionary. Being
humans, we tend to use other as a yardstick to measure our progress and we believe
we attain perfection only when we are far ahead of others.
The world is what it is
today because of the desire for perfection. Just look at the latest
technological gadgets around us today, it is like the market is never tired of
receiving new products. You buy a brand new car thinking you have bought the
most beautiful machine ever to emerge on the planet only for that same company to
release a higher model only few months after. Your new car suddenly becomes old
and you are told of its limitations. Compare the Nokia 3310 of those days with
the Samsung S7 of today!!! When it comes to finding perfection, humanity is
never tired. There is just no end in sight.
The good news for us
Christians is that when it comes to the practice of the faith, Jesus Christ has
defined what perfection is. This is a stage of spirituality very easy to come
by yet so rare and so very few persons on this planet have achieved it. To become
perfect is to reach a point when you are able to love every single human being
on earth equally regardless of what they do to you, regardless of whether or
not they love you back, regardless of whether or not they consider you as an
enemy. To be a perfect Christian is to forgive quickly and completely not
minding the gravity of what people do to you.
Imagine how King Ahab in the
first reading connived with Jezebel to deprive Naboth of both his dear life and
his beloved vineyard. Yet, just because Ahab rent his clothes, put on sackcloth
and fasted, God quickly forgive him. Only God can forgive like that and only a
human being who has become God (in terms of being perfect) can forgive and love
like that.
To love your enemies is as
good as saying you should never have enemies! To love those who do not hide
their hatred from you and seek for ways to destroy you is not easy. To pray for
the good of those who hurt you badly does not come by easily. How many of our
crusades, prayer sessions and warfare proclamations are targeted at our enemies
but real and imagined? It has even gotten to the extent people are told to
shoot and kill inside the church. You hear how people shout “Die, Die, Die”
while praying calling “Holy Ghost Fire” to BURN AND CONSUME. They even back up
their prayers with bible verses such as Exodus
22, verse 18 which states: “Suffer not a witch to live.”
As much
as it is not a crime to pray for the destruction of evil in our midst, we must
realize that every human being is made in God’s image and likeness regardless
of his or behavior and character. If we must hate at all, it is not the human
being we should hate but the evil itself. We can love the sinner even while we
crucify the sin. So the next time you get into warfare prayers, do not pray for
the death of your fellow human beings who do bad bad things, instead pray for
their deliverance from being under the influence of Satan.
There
were witches and wizards in Jesus’ own time, there was none that he killed,
instead he freed them from demonic influence and some of those who were freed
became his personal assistants. They became so close to him that one of them,
Mary Magdalene was even falsely accused of being his wife. This is to tell you
how God is so perfect when it comes to loving those who ordinarily should be his
enemies and he wants us to emulate this perfection. Be perfect today. Love and
forgive like God.
Let us Pray:
O God, strength of those who
hope in you, help us with your grace to serve you despite our mortal frailty
and teach us to love others despite their mortal frailties as well. Amen.
Good morning.
Be Happy. Live Positive. Have Faith. It is well with you.
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