But 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; That 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. For if ye love them which love you, what reward have ye? do not even the publicans the same? And if ye salute your brethren only, what do ye more than others? do not even the publicans so? Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect. Love my enemies? Bless people that curse men? Do good to people that hate me? Pray for people that despite me, use me, harass me, and victimize me? Those are not easy commandments! But that is what the Lord asks of us.
As always, Jesus Christ is the perfect example of his teachings. While hanging on the cross, as he beheld his malefactors casting lots on his clothing, Jesus humbly spoke the words, "Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do." And he completely meant it. If Christ can forgive those who crucified him, can I forgive those who wrong me? Can I forgive myself? I hope to look to Christ's example, acknowledge that we are all brothers and sisters, and freely and completely forgive. The Roman philosopher Seneca (4 BC to AD 65) once wrote, “If thou wouldst imitate God, do good even to the unthankful, for the sun rises even on the wicked, and the seas are open to pirates" (http://biblehub.com/commentaries/matthew/5-45.htm). God is not a respecter of persons. "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life" (John 3:16).
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For anyone interested, I have a professional blog titled The Instructional Designer's Toolkit where I share tools and inspiration for instructional designers and e-learning developers.
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