Sunrise and the Desert

You have heard that it was said, 'Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.' But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.” Matthew 5:43-45

I read this this morning and I think that I have always been apt to focus on the fact that I need to love, be kind, genuine and gracious to those that are quite opposite of me. Luckily I don't have many enemies, but still the fact that this is what I am called to do sounds so challenging. I often wonder, "how can I do this in a authentic, genuine way?" Thankfully the answer rests in the last sentence of the scripture. We must focus on the Lord's mercy, His love that extends to all every new, fresh morning. It took me some time in my Christian walk to realize what a blessing each new day was. To understand the gift of a new sunrise. The gift of the seasons. The gift of the soft green grass beneath my feet.

I think on the song lyrics, "A love more faithful than the morning". The sunrise will never fail us. Never. There has never been a morning in my short life where I woke up and was able to blame the Lord for forgetting the sunrise to wake the day and His people. When you think of faithfulness in that way, and you try to grasp that His love is more faithful than even the sunrise, it leaves you thankful. Utterly thankful and small.

And He sends rain on all of those who are in need, both righteous and unrighteous. I love this scripture, "He turned the desert into pools of water and the parched ground into flowing springs". A desert is a dry place. A place to die. Slowly. I think on how I would feel in the desert seeing a pool of water after many years without. Hope. Healing. And again utterly thankful.

And may His ways make it easier for us to have mercy on others. May His faithfulness to all be the sole reason that we are able to be faithful in anything that we do. Whether that means that we are the sunrise for someone lost in the dark or the water that quenches a thirst that has been dry for much too long. And may this give our hearts great joy.

Listening to Sufjan Stevens, Amazing Grace (on repeat of course)