April 5 Daily Devotional

Bible Reading

Matthew 5:38-48:

³⁸Ye have heard that it hath been said, An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth:
³⁹But I say unto you, That ye resist not evil: but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also.
⁴⁰And if any man will sue thee at the law, and take away thy coat, let him have thy cloak also.
⁴¹And whosoever shall compel thee to go a mile, go with him twain [two].
⁴²Give to him that asketh thee, and from him that would borrow of thee turn not thou away.
⁴³Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy.
⁴⁴But 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;
⁴⁵That 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.
⁴⁶For if ye love them which love you, what reward have ye? do not even the publicans the same?
⁴⁷And if ye salute your brethren only, what do ye more than others? do not even the publicans so?
⁴⁸Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.

Devotional

Jesus prayed this prayer when He was being nailed to the cross. He had received shameful treatment at the hands of the Jews, and the heathen soldiers accorded him great indignities, and handled him roughly; yet Jesus prayed for them.

What is our reaction when we are ill-treated and have to suffer wrong? Is it not natural for us to seek to pay back, to try to take revenge? And this in spite of the fact that Jesus taught, "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." In spite of the fact that Paul says, "Bless them which persecute you, bless and curse not." And, "if thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirsts, give him drink." In spite of the fact, that Christ has taught us to pray, "Forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors." In spite of the fact, that, if we do not forgive, we shall have no forgiveness.

And yet, Stephan, when his enemies stoned him to death, prayed, "Lord, lay not this sin to their charge." And Paul says, "Being reviled, we bless, being persecuted, we suffer it."

Only when our hearts are changed by the grace of God, and renewed by the Spirit of God, will we be able to pray for our enemies and forgive them, and then we have forgiveness. And that there is forgiveness for us, we owe to the fact that Christ atoned for our sins, and prayed for us.

Prayer

O God, be merciful to us sinners. Remove from us what is displeasing unto Thee. Fill our hearts with Thy Spirit. May He lead, guide and control us in our thoughts, words and actions. Help us to love our enemies, and to pray for them. Help us to forgive, so that we may be forgiven. For Jesus' sake. Amen.

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Scripture in Devotional: Matt. 5:44; Rom. 12:14; Matt. 6:14, 15; Acts 7:60; 1 Cor. 4:12; Matt. 5:45; 6:14.

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