Q. Matthew 5:43, You have heard that it was said: love your friends, hate your enemies. 44, But now I tell you: love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 45, so that you may become the children of your Father in heaven. For he makes his sun to shine on bad and good people alike, and gives rain to those who do good and to those who do evil. What do these scriptures mean?

Q. Matthew 5:43, You have heard that it was said: love your friends, hate your enemies. 44, But now I tell you: love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 45, so that you may become the children of your Father in heaven. For he makes his sun to shine on bad and good people alike, and gives rain to those who do good and to those who do evil.

What do these scriptures mean?

A. ‘Love your friends and hate your enemies’ means making discriminations. ‘Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you’ means not making discriminations, and ‘become the children of your Father in heaven’ means to attain enlightenment.

These scriptures are advising us not to make discriminations, friends and enemies, which symbolise good and bad, in order to attain enlightenment.

‘He makes his sun shine on bad and good people alike, and gives rain to those who do good and to those who do evil’ means that He, the true Self doesn’t make any discrimination.

To sum up, these scriptures mean that we should make no discrimination so that we may attain enlightenment.

Student: “What is enlightenment?”
Master: “It is to know that all illusions are the true-self.”

©Boo Ahm
All writing ©Boo Ahm. All images ©Simon Hathaway http://ow.ly/i/vQcG1