commitment. Breaking an oath is unloving. Lying and never intending to keep the commitment is also unloving. Jesus is asking us: “What’s in your heart? How much room is left for love?” Questions for Reflection and Discussion 1. What habits or addictions do you have that are unloving toward yourself? Why are they so unloving? 2. What is the most common way you treat others unlovingly? It might be impatience, or unkind words, or turning your back on the needs of others, for example. Identify from what area of your life this comes. (Eg., impatience might come from a superiority complex.) 3. Describe a time when you overcame a sinful tendency. How did you recognize it as a sin? What made you decide to change? How did the change affect others? --------------------------------------------------------------------------------Matthew 5:38 - 48 Mercy is the key to understanding why we should love others the way Jesus tells us to in this difficult-to-live passage. Think of love as the front door to people’s hearts. When they close it, mercy is the love that sneaks in the back door. In early Old Testament times, hatred was rampant. If someone got angry and punched out another’s eye, the victim would gather his clan and retaliate by wiping out his aggressor’s clan. So God gave them a law that would bring them closer to love: If someone hurts your eye, you may do nothing more than the same to him. It was still unloving, but at least it was fair. When Jesus came, however, He raised the standards: If someone hurts your eye, love him. When people hurt us, they don’t understand that they’re actually hurting themselves. They don’t know that they’re clogging up their hearts with hatred. They don’t know that while their hearts are closed, they can’t experience God and His love. But if we give them love despite what they do to us, God is presenting His love to them through us (the back ...
