Someone once said: “Loving our enemies, then, does not mean that we are supposed to love the dirt in which the pearl is buried; rather it means that we love the pearl which lies in the dust ... . God does not love us because we are by nature lovable. But we become lovable because He loves us.”

 When you look at your “enemies,” what do you normally see — the pearl or the dirt around it?

 Read Matthew 5:43-48. Jesus calls us to love and pray for our enemies. What example from nature does Jesus give us there that helps us understand why we should love our enemies? What’s the point He is teaching us?

 In Matthew 5:45, Jesus uses the example of His Father in heaven to illustrate how we should treat those who hurt us, who perhaps put us in the worst kind of crucibles. Jesus says that His Father sends the blessing of rain to both the righteous and the unrighteous; if God gives even the unjust rain, how then should we treat them, as well?

 Jesus isn’t trying to say that we should always have a warm, fuzzy feeling to everyone who causes us trouble, though this may also be possible. Fundamentally, love for our enemies is not meant to be a feeling we have for them but specific actions toward them that reveal care and consideration.

 Jesus concludes this passage with a verse that often causes a lot of debate: “Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect” (Matt. 5:48, NIV). But the meaning is very clear in the context: Those people who want to be perfect as God is perfect must show love to their enemies as God shows love to His. To be perfect in God’s sight is to love the opposition; and to do this takes a meekness of heart that only God can give.