God’s Sunshine and Rain on Everyone

Here are a few interesting verses about sunshine and rain in the Bible: “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, so that you may be children of your Father in heaven. For he causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. For if you love those who love you, what reward will you have?” (Matthew 5:43-46 / CSB 2018)

These are Bible verses about loving your enemies and they pierce the hearts and souls of Christian believers. God requires us to love all His creation and to pray for them for “he causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.” It is due to God’s love that the evil and the unrighteous receive such blessings to serve the interest of God which is that sinners might return to him and be forgiven and lead a righteous life afterwards. It seeks the good for all people. Its object is to give the salvation which was won for us by Jesus Christ to every human being God created.

It is not a love that is reserved to those whom one loves who can return the love. “For if you love those who love you, what reward will you have?” Sinners love their fellow sinners, unbelievers love their fellow unbelievers, and the unrighteous love their kind. What makes Christian believers different from these people? It is that the love of God is in them. That is what makes them different. And if the believer truly has this love of God in him or in her, that believer will love these sinners and pray for them that one day they will return to God.

There is it again: The goal.

If we are true followers of Christ, then we must desire what God desires. And his desire is to bring back everyone to His fold.

To help bring back sinners to God, we must pray for them. This is all-important even in our highly technological time. All our prayers, whether these are made individually or as a community, are heard by God. That is our royal privilege. God hears us, and when our compassionate God hears our prayers, He brings His power down to earth according to His time and wisdom. The power of God’s words work, as human history has shown.

Remember what Christ said about one of His purposes why He came on earth? He came to call sinners to repentance. He wasn’t joking. He died for US on the cross more than 2000 years ago. The Light shines on us since then, and it is as refreshing as the rain.