Matthew Henry once said, “Christianity is more than humanity. We know more than others. We talk more the things of God than others. We profess more than others. We have been promised more than others. God has done more for us and therefore He justly expects more from us than of others. He calls on us to love the unlovable.” And isn’t that exactly what Christ is saying in verse 48? When He says, “You are to be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect” Christ is not saying that a person can attain perfection in this life. You remember, it’s the same Christ who’s going to teach us to pray, “Forgive us our sins, forgive us our debts, forgive us our trespasses,” who tells us to ‘be perfect as our heavenly Father is perfect.’ Christ is not expecting us to achieve perfection in this life, or He would not have given us that clause in the Lord’s Prayer which asks God to forgive us! No, Christ is saying, ‘Have the same kind of all embracing love that your heavenly Father has.’

Luke gives you the clue in Luke chapter 6. He translates ‘be merciful’ as your heavenly Father is merciful. You see here mercy is being contrasted to being mercenary. God, through the Lord Jesus Christ, is calling His people to love those who are both not in a position to reward us for our love, and even to love those who despite our love seek to abuse us. It is a love which loves not because of what it will get out of others, but it is a love implanted in our hearts by God Himself that enables us to love without anticipation or expectation of reward for that love, except from the heavenly Father. That is the love that the Lord Jesus is calling us to. And it’s the love of God, my friends. If anything in this passage teaches you that this way is not a way of works righteousness, it’s this passage, because this love is not a love that we can stoke up in ourselves. This is a love that only comes to us when God has taken up residence in our lives.

Think of God’s words to Jonah. Jonah the prophet, a mighty man of God who had absolutely no compassion on the Ninevites. He wanted his people to have revival. He didn’t want those Gentile Ninevites to have revival. God the Father says to him, in Jonah chapter 4 verses 10 and 11, words which spoke of His compassion not only on the people but even the animals. God the Father had compassion on those people who did not know their right hand from their left, and He wanted them to come and to enjoy the grace which is held in store for all those who embrace Him by faith. It’s easy to love those in whom we delight. It’s difficult to love those who are not only different from us but those who use us and abuse us and seek to take advantage of us. John Stott has said, and this hits me right between the eyes: “Everybody believes in love. But not love for those who’ve injured us.” Everybody believes in love. But not love for those who’re outsiders.

You see my friends, if you want to measure whether you’ve gone beyond niceness to real Christian love, look at your hearts and ask yourselves: “How do I love those who have hurt me? How do I love those who hate me? How do I love those who have no claim on my love?” Then, you will see how far you have to go in love. Thank God, the Lord Jesus does not leave us to our own devices, for this love cannot be created by human effort. We must run back to Him. We must get more love to Christ if we are to grow in this kind of love to one another. You see, there is no humanly generated love that can enable you to love people in this sort of a self-sacrificial way. Only a living and loving relationship with the heavenly Father, an assurance that He has given you everything that you need in Christ, an assurance that all blessing awaits in glory, can enable you to love those will take advantage of you. And that’s precisely what Christ is calling you to. And that’s precisely what Christ is calling me to. And if we would live this way for one day, there is no telling what would happen in our community. Amen.

Yes, perfect.