Reading your Bible for today February 16

February 16: Matthew 5:43-48

Key Verse: Matthew 5:48
Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect.

Devotion:
It's not such a tall order – just be perfect! Boy, if only we could! In reality we all very far off the mark. In reality we tend towards the first verse in this passage: “Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy.” We only have to look at the news to see just how much we are at war with ourselves. Whilst many of us do hope and pray for peace, there are those who are hell bent at making war. Whilst we may try to calm things down, others incite violence wherever possible. Whilst we try to show compassion for all, we cannot hide our feelings for those rising up against us. We are human and we do have hateful responses for many things in our lives.

Whilst we still harbour those feeling of hatred and violence, we are no better than those we aim those feeling at. As long as we continue to show disrespect or feeling of dislike towards others, we continue to walk as other men do. We have become so used to following other people’s examples because it is easier to do that. We have followed the politicians and movie stars in the things they do. We have followed famous people in the things they have said and believed.

But what have we done with the example and Word of our Lord. Too many times in our lives we continue to ignore what is written in favour of what we think is right. Too many times we turn down the righteous in favour of what we think and desire.

Think about the relationship we have or had with our parents. We listened to them because we found out that what they were trying to teach us was right and helpful. We have a wonderful God who wants us to follow Him and to act like we are His children. He is an awesome God who has created a wonderful place for us to live. He is trying to teach us how we should be living, but we continue to turn our backs just when it counts...

Points to Ponder:
What is (or was) your relationship like with your parents?

What is your relationship like with God?

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