--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: He especially gave voice to the words of…" description: "\"“He especially gave voice to the words of Jesus, whose “advice and encouragement” in the Sermon on the Mount spoke to them in their desperate crisis. D..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/490/alan-kreider-21061_good-father_he-especially-gave-voice-to-the-words-of_2692508.jpg" --- # He especially gave voice to the words of Jesus, whose… ![“He especially gave voice to the words of Jesus, whose “advice and encouragement” in the Sermon on the Mount spoke to them in their desperate crisis. Drawing on these resources, he urged his people to respond to this time of danger and suffering by imitating God. “It [is] not at all remarkable if…” quote by Alan Kreider](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/490/alan-kreider-21061_good-father_he-especially-gave-voice-to-the-words-of_2692508.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/490/alan-kreider-21061_good-father_he-especially-gave-voice-to-the-words-of_2692508.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/490/alan-kreider-21061_good-father_he-especially-gave-voice-to-the-words-of_2692508.jpg) > ““He especially gave voice to the words of Jesus, whose “advice and encouragement” in the Sermon on the Mount spoke to them in their desperate crisis. Drawing on these resources, he urged his people to respond to this time of danger and suffering by imitating God. “It \[is\] not at all remarkable if we cherish only our own brethren with a proper observance of love.” Instead, Christians should do “more than the publican or the pagan.” They should overcome evil with good and exercise “a divine-like clemency, loving even their enemies . . . and praying for the salvation of their persecutors.” For doesn’t God make the sun to rise and rain to fall upon all people, not merely on his own friends? And shouldn’t “one who professes to be a son of God imitate the example of his Father”? Cyprian’s flock were deeply schooled in Jesus’s teaching that they should love their enemies. And Cyprian extended this teaching by applying it to the provision of crisis nursing for our brothers but “not only our brothers.” Let us imagine the rhetorician Cyprian as he warmed to his point: You Christians, you are my people and flock, you know the mercy of God, and you demonstrate this by providing visits, bread, and water for other believers who are suffering. I praise God for your faithfulness. Now I am calling you to broaden your view, to exercise “a divine-like clemency” by loving your pagan neighbors. Visit them, too; encourage them; provide bread and water for them. I know that in recent months some pagans have been involved in persecuting you. Pray for them; “pray for their salvation,” and help them. You are God’s children: the descendants of a good Father should “prove the imitation of his goodness.”” [Alan Kreider](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-kreider/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Cyprian urges Christians to extend love beyond fellow believers, caring for all, even enemies, reflecting divine mercy in crisis. **In simple terms:** Love everyone, especially those who hurt you. Key Takeaway Practice universal compassion. Themes compassion service faith justice inclusion Mood hopeful determined inspirational Type ethical religious motivational When to use this quote - providing aid during pandemics - helping refugees - supporting marginalized communities - interfaith outreach Key Concepts Christian ethics agape love social responsibility Questions to Reflect On - How can you show kindness to someone who has harmed you? - What practical steps can you take to help strangers in crisis? A Different Perspective May be challenging to love those who actively persecute you. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Good father](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/good-father/) [Mercy of god](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mercy-of-god/) [Sermon on the mount](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sermon-on-the-mount/) [Son of god](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/son-of-god/) ## Related quotes > [People should try to know God and imitate him in their works. Repetitions and ceremonials are of no use.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dayananda-saraswati/people-should-try-to-know-god-and-imitate-him-in-their-works/) [Dayananda Saraswati](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dayananda-saraswati/) > [“Let us follow the Son of God. Imitate Him. Do His work.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-fielding-smith/let-us-follow-the-son-of-god-imitate-him-do-his-work/) [Joseph Fielding Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-fielding-smith/) > [For some reason, the most vocal Christians among us never mention the Beatitudes (Matthew 5). But, often with tears in their eyes, the demand…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/for-some-reason-the-most-vocal-christians-among-us-never-mention-the/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [ \[The Christmas story\] is as simple as was the Man himself and His teaching. SA simple as the Sermon on the Mount which still… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hal-borland/the-christmas-story-is-as-simple-as-was-the-man-himself-and-his/) [Hal Borland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hal-borland/) > [Never look for right in the other man, but never cease to be right yourself. 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Truman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-s-truman/) > [Modern poverty is not the poverty that was blest in the Sermon on the Mount.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/modern-poverty-is-not-the-poverty-that-was-blest-in-the-sermon-on-the/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [“(Socialist Powers Hapgood)...had become an official in the CIO. There had been some sort of dust-up on a picket line, and he was testifying…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/socialist-powers-hapgood-had-become-an-official-in-the-cio-there-had/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [Powers Hapgood had just come from court because there was some kind of dust-up on a picket line. The judge was so curious about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/powers-hapgood-had-just-come-from-court-because-there-was-some-kind/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [If God is not with us, we do not want to continue. If the Sermon on the Mount is simply impractical, our mission work…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/heidi-baker/if-god-is-not-with-us-we-do-not-want-to-continue-if-the-sermon-on-the/) [Heidi Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/heidi-baker/) > [“The Sermon on the Mount is law, not grace, for it demands as the condition of blessingMt 5:3-9 that perfect character which grace, through…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-sermon-on-the-mount-is-law-not-grace-for-it-demands-as-the/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“The same Sermon on the Mount that influenced Tolstoy to write “The Kingdom of God is Within You”, inspired me to a great extent…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abhijit-naskar/the-same-sermon-on-the-mount-that-influenced-tolstoy-to-write-the/) [Abhijit Naskar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abhijit-naskar/) ## More by Alan Kreider > [“This, the Christians believed, was God’s work and not theirs. 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Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-p-young/) > [I try to be a good father, and my kids are the most important thing in my life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wagner-moura/i-try-to-be-a-good-father-and-my-kids-are-the-most-important-thing-in/) [Wagner Moura](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wagner-moura/) > [“A ‘good’ father will tenderly cultivate his children. But a ‘good’ father who is also a ‘brave’ father will let the children without cultivate…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-d-lounsbrough/a-good-father-will-tenderly-cultivate-his-children-but-a-good-father/) [Craig D. 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Drawing on these resources, he urged his people to respond to this time of danger and suffering by imitating God. “It [is] not at all remarkable if we cherish only our own brethren with a proper observance of love.” Instead, Christians should do “more than the publican or the pagan.” They should overcome evil with good and exercise “a divine-like clemency, loving even their enemies . . . and praying for the salvation of their persecutors.” For doesn’t God make the sun to rise and rain to fall upon all people, not merely on his own friends? And shouldn’t “one who professes to be a son of God imitate the example of his Father”? Cyprian’s flock were deeply schooled in Jesus’s teaching that they should love their enemies. And Cyprian extended this teaching by applying it to the provision of crisis nursing for our brothers but “not only our brothers.” Let us imagine the rhetorician Cyprian as he warmed to his point: You Christians, you are my people and flock, you know the mercy of God, and you demonstrate this by providing visits, bread, and water for other believers who are suffering. I praise God for your faithfulness. Now I am calling you to broaden your view, to exercise “a divine-like clemency” by loving your pagan neighbors. Visit them, too; encourage them; provide bread and water for them. I know that in recent months some pagans have been involved in persecuting you. Pray for them; “pray for their salvation,” and help them. 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