Golden and Simple
Read Matthew 7:9-12.
Like many bloggers and pastors today, I should probably have something witty, profound or encouraging to say about the coming solar eclipse. (No, it's not a sign of the end of the world, sorry. Jesus can return whenever he wants, with or without a solar eclipse.) Some people, of course, have been obsessed with this astrological event. When I was in Kroger one day last week, one woman was calling everyone she knew and buying out the store's stock of special sunglasses. She even told the clerk that was what she was doing!
We get wrapped up in certain days, big events, "signs of the times," while Jesus is more concerned with what we do day after day after day after day. In his Sermon on the Mount, what some call the "constitution of the Kingdom," Jesus tells us that the way we live each day and the way we treat those around us is fairly simple. We call it the "Golden Rule" (though the Bible doesn't call it that). It's simply this: "do to others what you would have them do to you" (7:12).
It so simple it sounds almost childish, or childlike. By that I mean, it's a simple enough principle that a child can understand it. Ironically (or on purpose?), Jesus (another time) said that if you want to be a part of his kingdom, you have to have a heart like a child (Matthew 18:3). Following this rule is a huge step in that direction.
You don't want to be insulted? Then don't insult others.
You don't want to be hurt, shamed, treated like you don't matter? Then don't do that to others.
You want to be encouraged and helped to draw closer to Jesus? Then do that to and for others.
Will those things still happen to you even if you practice this rule? Yes, probably, because not everyone lives by this simple rule. (What a world it would be if we did!) But that doesn't change how a follower of Jesus treats those around them. We care for our neighbors in the ways we would like to be treated. That's how the world changes. It's not fast, and it's not easy. But it does happen, and it will happen when enough of us finally decide to live the way Jesus said we should.
Treat others the way you want to be treated. Simple...and a "golden" way to live.
Like many bloggers and pastors today, I should probably have something witty, profound or encouraging to say about the coming solar eclipse. (No, it's not a sign of the end of the world, sorry. Jesus can return whenever he wants, with or without a solar eclipse.) Some people, of course, have been obsessed with this astrological event. When I was in Kroger one day last week, one woman was calling everyone she knew and buying out the store's stock of special sunglasses. She even told the clerk that was what she was doing!
We get wrapped up in certain days, big events, "signs of the times," while Jesus is more concerned with what we do day after day after day after day. In his Sermon on the Mount, what some call the "constitution of the Kingdom," Jesus tells us that the way we live each day and the way we treat those around us is fairly simple. We call it the "Golden Rule" (though the Bible doesn't call it that). It's simply this: "do to others what you would have them do to you" (7:12).
It so simple it sounds almost childish, or childlike. By that I mean, it's a simple enough principle that a child can understand it. Ironically (or on purpose?), Jesus (another time) said that if you want to be a part of his kingdom, you have to have a heart like a child (Matthew 18:3). Following this rule is a huge step in that direction.
You don't want to be insulted? Then don't insult others.
You don't want to be hurt, shamed, treated like you don't matter? Then don't do that to others.
You want to be encouraged and helped to draw closer to Jesus? Then do that to and for others.
Will those things still happen to you even if you practice this rule? Yes, probably, because not everyone lives by this simple rule. (What a world it would be if we did!) But that doesn't change how a follower of Jesus treats those around them. We care for our neighbors in the ways we would like to be treated. That's how the world changes. It's not fast, and it's not easy. But it does happen, and it will happen when enough of us finally decide to live the way Jesus said we should.
Treat others the way you want to be treated. Simple...and a "golden" way to live.
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