"Jesus is far more realistic than we give him credit. The only certainty in Jesus’ command is that we will have enemies. There’s no reassurance that our love will transform them, improve our earthly status, or end wars. We are simply told to love and pray for adversaries so that we “…may be children of (our) heavenly Father.”
Even if we interpret the preceding verses (5:38-42) as social historians of the Mediterranean world suggest (i.e. reframing insults and oppression in ways that assert our human dignity), the path of nonresistant love is rarely painless. It is, in point of fact, often lethal. Remember that Jesus is raised in triumph after we tortured and killed him.
Even if we interpret the preceding verses (5:38-42) as social historians of the Mediterranean world suggest (i.e. reframing insults and oppression in ways that assert our human dignity), the path of nonresistant love is rarely painless. It is, in point of fact, often lethal. Remember that Jesus is raised in triumph after we tortured and killed him.
But what’s realistic about a command like, “ Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect?” (It’s no wonder many prefer Luke’s rendering (6:36): “Be merciful just as your Father is merciful.”)"
http://www.ekklesiaproject.org/blog/2011/02/realist-of-grace/
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