Love Like God

To love like God. That should be the goal of all of us. It is the goal that Christ himself gives to us when he commands us to be perfect, just as your heavenly Father is perfect. On our own, this is impossible. In our fallen nature, we are incapable of doing this. However, when we unite ourselves to the one who imitated this perfect love through his death on the cross and allow the Holy Spirit to draw us into that mystery, then and only then can we be perfect as our Heavenly Father is perfect. Then and only then can we love like God.

Love Like God

Gospel - Matthew 5:43-48

Jesus said to his disciples:

"You have heard that it was said,

You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.

But I say to you, love your enemies

and pray for those who persecute you,

that you may be children of your heavenly Father,

for he makes his sun rise on the bad and the good,

and causes rain to fall on the just and the unjust.

For if you love those who love you, what recompense will you have?

Do not the tax collectors do the same?

And if you greet your brothers only,

what is unusual about that?

Do not the pagans do the same?

So be perfect, just as your heavenly Father is perfect."

Scriptural Analysis

Jesus opens this final illustration of the righteousness with which the disciples are to love by referring to the command to love one’s neighbor found in Leviticus, “You shall not take vengeance or bear any grudge against the sons of your own people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the Lord.” (Leviticus 19:18) While hating one’s enemy was not taught in the Old Testament it was nevertheless inferred from this passage. However, Jesus challenges his listeners, pointing out that even tax collectors and pagans love their neighbors.

Jesus will now reach the climax of this entire exchange when he commands his disciples to, “Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.” Consider how his listeners would have received this message. When mentioning enemies, the first people who would have come to mind are their Roman oppressors. They heavily tax the Jewish people and oppress them, and yet Jesus is calling his people to love them.

It is this radical love that will make his disciples like their Heavenly Father. God loves all of humanity. He makes the sun shine on everyone and the rain fall on the crops of all humankind.

Jesus tells his disciples that they must be perfect as their Heavenly Father is perfect. Again, drawing on an image from Leviticus, “You shall be holy; for I the Lord your God am holy” (Leviticus 19:2), Jesus raises the bar. The Israelites were called to imitate the holiness of God. This was often mistaken to mean separating themselves from those who are unholy: sinners and the Gentiles. However, Jesus provides the definitive interpretation of this scripture. To be holy as God is holy means they must love as God loves. This is a love that is not stained by anger or lust, a commitment to marriage and keeping your word, and seeking what is best for your enemy.

Daily Application

We have reached the culmination of chapter five of Matthew’s Gospel. After presenting the Beatitudes, Jesus challenges his disciples to a level of righteousness that, although always intended by the Mosaic law, would have been very jarring to hear. This call reaches its climax when Jesus commands his disciples to be perfect as their Heavenly Father is perfect. Jesus explains what this perfection that we must seek is. It is to love as the Heavenly Father loves: to love all unconditionally.

Out of all the commands that Jesus issues, there are perhaps two that present the most significant challenges to us: to pick up our cross daily and to love our enemies with the unconditional love that God offers to all. As Jesus notes in this Gospel, loving our family and friends is something even tax collectors and pagans do. Although I would argue that loving them with the perfect love of God is not easy. There are times when even our family and friends can get on our nerves and make it hard to put their needs above our own.

However, this pales in comparison to Jesus’s command to love our enemies. This command may carry extra weight in 2025 America, given the current immigration challenges the nation is facing. Immigration is a complex issue with numerous layers. However, any examination of the problem, like all issues, must start first and foremost from a position of love. Any solution to the problem that treats immigrants as enemies unworthy of our love is a solution antithetical to the message of the Gospel.

Of course, this call for us to be perfect in love doesn’t just apply to significant national issues like immigration. It applies to every aspect of our lives. For example, you may have a coworker who drives you crazy. Instead of gossiping about them or harboring ill will towards them, remain calm, patient, and smile at them. Try to show the love of Christ in every interaction with them.

To be perfect, like our Heavenly Father, is impossible for us. In his commentary on Matthew’s Gospel, Aquinas notes that perfection according to our nature is impossible, as only God’s nature is perfect. However, he also notes that the more a man extracts himself from the things of this world, the more he can approach the likeness of those who are in the heavenly homeland. For example, the disciples chose to be poor not for the sake of poverty but for the freedom it brought to focus on God.

This is why, to approach the perfection to which we are called, we must walk with Christ. Alone, none of us can achieve that level of perfection. However, with Christ and through the working of the Holy Spirit, we can begin to detach ourselves from the things of this world. We can focus on heavenly things, which will draw us closer to the Father. That will then allow us to love our enemies in the way He desires. This is the genius of Saint Francis of Assisi. He understood that by taking the lowest position on the societal ladder, he would be open to love in a radical way. He would be able to love like God.