radical thinking

Matthew 5, 6, & 7 contain what has been called the Sermon on the Mount, a talk Jesus gave that holds some of His most revolutionary ideas.

We can't fully appreciate how radical His ideas were because so many of them have been adopted into humankind's psyche as the norm.

Perhaps one of the most radical things He said comes at the end of chapter 5.

What Jesus is suggesting here was completely & utterly foreign to the way people thought.

And, quite frankly, I think it's still pretty foreign to the way we think things should be.

As you read this, ask yourself this question: "What would things be like if we put this into practice?"



Matthew 4

43 "You have heard the law that says, 'Love your neighbor' and hate your enemy.

44 But I say, love your enemies!

        Pray for those who persecute you!

45 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.

46 If you love only those who love you, what reward is there for that?

        Even corrupt tax collectors do that much.

47 If you are kind only to your friends, how are you different from anyone else?

        Even pagans do that.

48 But you are to be perfect,

        even as your Father in heaven is perfect.