“Seeing the Unseen Christ” (Week 6)
by Eric Rajaniemi
Welcome back!
This week we will be considering Matthew 5:43 – 6:4.
This passage is all about when we practice the presence of
Christ, we lavish His love on others.
Now this idea can appear rather foolish when first read
about. But Jesus reminds all of us how gracious God is to
all people. He is not like Santa Claus who only gives gifts
to those who have been nice. Even the naughty ones
benefit in countless ways from God’s goodness. Christ
says if we are His true sons and daughters, we also should
love our enemies, even praying for those who persecute
us. This is the first hard saying in the passage.
The second hard saying by Christ motivates us to do our
deeds of Christian love so that they are seen by God but
not necessarily by other people. The object of doing secret
acts of Christian love is to have other people say thank
you to God rather than to us. If there is to be a personal
reward, God in heaven must be the one responsible for
bringing it.
#1 What are some negative consequences of being
publicly praised for doing good deeds?
#2 What are some advantages of doing acts of Christlike
love without anyone knowing?
#3 Try to open yourself up to the Holy Spirit’s leading,
who are “enemies’ to whom the unseen Christ might
lead you to offer unseen love? Who might He lead
you to pray silently for while you are out in public?
Eric
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