Be perfect, therefore, as your Heavenly Father is perfect. Matthew 5:48
Jesus called his first disciples and began to travel through Galilee preaching Good News, healing the sick and driving out demons. Naturally, He drew sizable crowds everywhere He went.
On the day these words were spoken Jesus went up on a mountainside, sat down and began to teach those who had gathered. This moment in time and these words would become commonly known as The Sermon on the Mount, a lengthly monologue that gives us a perfect window into the heart of God.
Verses 43-48 deal with how believers are to respond to the conflict and persecution encountered in everyday life, not just because we are followers of Christ, but because mankind struggles to dwell together peacefully.
Jesus is calling us to live like Him, a new and radical standard. Choose purity of heart, long to love and serve others without counting the cost. He would not have ask this of those present, and us today, if it were not possible. We must aspire toward a perfect, unselfish servitude that reflects the face and life of the Savior that died to give a free and clear way to eternal life.
Love,
Gretchen