The Lord had just set down laws concerning all aspects of the lives of the Hebrew people. He commanded that the people follow them diligently. An agreement had been reached between the Lord and the Hebrew people. If they followed the Lord's statutes faithfully and with all their hearts, then they would be the Lord's "treasured people" or consecrated to God. But they must walk in His ways listed in detail in Deuteronomy.

We find similar instructions in the Beatitudes, but Jesus takes them one step further. Jesus instructed His followers to not only love their neighbours, but to also love their enemies - and to even pray for their enemies. This is not an easy thing to ask of people. What was Jesus thinking? Jesus told the people that everyone loves those who love them; but Jesus' followers needed to be different. Jesus' followers needed to take the extra step because God loves everyone. Jesus said that we must all follow these instructions if we wish to be "children of your Father in heaven." In other words, we need to live differently from others in order to follow the Will of God. The Christian life is challenging but great is the reward!