213th Post Jesus on Love & Obedience Con't. - Mathew 5: 43 - 45

Matthew 5: 43 - 45 - Jesus Sermon on the Mount.
You have heard it was said, "You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy." But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.
This passage was spoken by Jesus about 1.1/2 years into His earthly ministry. The difference between the Jews of the Old Testament and His teaching, is Jesus was making God's laws to live by, not live within. The Jews of the Old Testament lived like the words were written on stone, they were not alive. Jesus on the other hand applied the Law to their lives and made the Law live within them. Love your neighbor and hate your enemy, that is what the world teaches. We are called to follow Christ's example, and to imitate Him. When you call yourself a "Christian", you are declaring that you are trying to be Christ-like. Christ is our model, not other people. Jesus tells us that we have to love our enemies. When we follow Jesus' teaching, we stick out from the rest of the world. This is what Jesus meant when He said, to be in the world but not of the world.