Thou shalt not avenge, nor bear any grudge against the children of thy people, but thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself: I am the Lord. Leviticus 19:18
Through Moses the Lord had said, "Thou shalt not hate thy brother in thine heart....Thou shalt not avenge, nor bear any grudge against the children of thy people, but thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself" (Leviticus 19:17, 18).
The spirit of hatred and revenge originated with Satan, and it led him to put to death the Son of God. Whoever cherishes malice or unkindness is cherishing the same spirit, and its fruit will be unto death. In the revengeful thought the evil deed lies enfolded, as the plant in the seed. "Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer: and ye know that no murderer hath eternal life abiding in him" (1 John 3:15).
Jesus proceeded to show His hearers what it means to keep the commandments of God--that it is a reproduction in themselves of the character of Christ. For in Him, God was daily made manifest before them. (Thoughts from the Mount of Blessing, 55, 56)
Reflection: Loving those who love us is much easier than loving those who don't love us. As we allow the love of Christ to permeate our very souls, we will, in turn, begin to have a love that cannot ever come from us alone--a Christlike love.
Through Moses the Lord had said, "Thou shalt not hate thy brother in thine heart....Thou shalt not avenge, nor bear any grudge against the children of thy people, but thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself" (Leviticus 19:17, 18).
The spirit of hatred and revenge originated with Satan, and it led him to put to death the Son of God. Whoever cherishes malice or unkindness is cherishing the same spirit, and its fruit will be unto death. In the revengeful thought the evil deed lies enfolded, as the plant in the seed. "Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer: and ye know that no murderer hath eternal life abiding in him" (1 John 3:15).
Jesus proceeded to show His hearers what it means to keep the commandments of God--that it is a reproduction in themselves of the character of Christ. For in Him, God was daily made manifest before them. (Thoughts from the Mount of Blessing, 55, 56)
Reflection: Loving those who love us is much easier than loving those who don't love us. As we allow the love of Christ to permeate our very souls, we will, in turn, begin to have a love that cannot ever come from us alone--a Christlike love.
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