Sermon on the Mount: Kingdom Citizens Love Like Their Heavenly Father

Love for neighbor was the essence of Old Testament ethics, but Jesus deepens that ethic in a surprising way. We are to love our neighbors even when they are hostile and do evil acts against us. Love for enemies is meant to be shown in acts of kindness. The model for this difficult activity is nothing less than God Himself. Like obedient children, we must imitate our Father and act toward evil people as he does. If God can be merciful to wicked as well as good people, so must we.