Love and Forgiveness

I was reading through the Gospel of Matthew this morning and two sections stood out to me.

Matthew 5:44-48 NIV
[44] "But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, [45] that you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. [46] If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? [47] And if you greet only your own people, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that? [48] Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect."

Matthew 6:14-15 NIV:
[14] "For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. [15] But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins."

I was thinking about how challenging these two sections of verses are to live out. The call is to go beyond our normal human nature and treat others, all others, the way we have been treated by the Lord. These really challenge our thinking about the way God deals with us as well. The picture of the Father, as it was often understood in the Old Testament, was that He was vengeful, unforgiving, and punished sinners. Here Jesus is laying out a different picture of the Father as someone who blesses both the righteous and unrighteous, who loves those who don't love Him, who is perfect in His love and mercy. All the challenges He makes to our ways of thinking are originating in the Father.

Secondly, there is an expectation that we understand forgiveness and extend it toward others. This is one of the few places that I know of where there is a direct command to do something to get something in return. There is much to be said about forgiveness towards others, but I think of primary importance, it opens us up to forgiveness by the Father. Jesus focuses on forgiveness several times in His discourses, so we should not read this as the only word on forgiveness.

Forgiveness speaks much about the nature of our heart, and our willingness to love in spite of hurt, rejection, slights, etc. Have we understood the incredible gift of forgiveness we have been given by Jesus taking all our sins to the cross? Have we embraced Him, and received His love into our hearts, and as such become a fount of love and life? Are we holding onto to unforgiveness so that we can extract some sort of payment from the offending party? Let us look to the Lord, who requires no payment for cancelling or sins, but who invites us into relationship.

Let us extend to others that which has been extended to us, namely God's mercy, love and forgiveness. Let us treat all as the Lord treats us. Let us learn to love as the Father loves