God's Goodness
In that way, you will be acting as true children of your Father in heaven. For he gives his sunlight to both the evil and the good, and he sends rain on the just and the unjust alike. Matthew 5:45 NLT
The rain falls on those who love God and those who don't. The sun shines on the one who praises God and the one who curses Him. This is God's common grace to mankind.
God is so good that He bestows His blessings upon all. Jesus uses the character of God as the basis for His command in the previous verse: “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.” When we live this way, we are behaving like children of our Father in heaven. In a sense, like Father, like son or daughter.
This type of living doesn't come naturally. We need the supernatural working of the Holy Spirit to bring this about in our lives. Jesus displayed this type of life as he endured the cross. “Then Jesus said, ‘Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do.’’’
Today, let's pray for God's enablement to live like Jesus, pleasing the Father.
Dear Father in heaven, in our flesh, we are prone to despise and hate our enemies. We want to see them suffer. Please forgive us. We know that this type of behavior does not please You. We pray that our enemies will come to know You. Please save them for Your glory, and help us to treat them as Jesus would. In His Name, we pray. Amen.