The Golden Rule can be surmised as this,"Treat others as you want to be treated." Over the last month or so, I've been thinking a great deal about The Golden Rule in relation to my own relationship with God and others. In the book by Scot McKnight, 40 Days living the Jesus Creed, he explains more about the Golden Rule from Jesus' perspective.
"I used to think that the Golden Rule was pablum, food for a child. I also thought that when I grew up spiritually, I'd put away pablum and eat meat. The older I get, the more experience I have in the church and with Christians, and the longer I seek to follow the Jesus Creed (Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all of your strength and with all of your mind.)..., the more the Golden Rule looks like the real meat and the supposed deep things look like a commentary on the Golden Rule."(McKnight,109)
Our challenge as followers of Jesus is to actively an unbiasedly live the Golden Rule with EVERYONE.
McKnight explains this further in stating, " Not just with those you love and like, or with your neighbors and friends. Live the Golden Rule with everyone. Not just on Sunday or in the evening when you are at home, or on the weekends when you have free time, but always: when you get up and when you go to work and when you are in a scrap with someone and when you are stressed... Those who live by Jesus' principles live a different kind of life." (pg 110 - 40 days living the Jesus Creed).
Matthew 22:37-40, resonates in the Golden Rule, in regard to living holistically by encompassing the foundations of loving God, ourselves and others and finding was to live these commands out in daily life.
Jesus replied: “ ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbour as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”
By breaking all the commandments down to these condensed principles, Jesus helps to connect the dots of hearing a command and carrying it out. It is easy to get sidetracked in the various processes of living out faith in a way that would honor Christ. Sometimes it is most difficult to know where to start. I think that is why he broke these points down into something that could be easily remembered.
Love God with all of your being and love your neighbor(whomever that may be) as yourself.
God help us to connect the dots of principle into practice in our daily lives. May we live changed and different lives. We need our lives to be nourished by your example so we can radiates your love to those around us; in all situations and all relationships. In everything do unto others, to self and to You, what we would want done to us.
God give us the strength to be Golden.
Image from Idioms by Kids.
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Thinkin' I'll go practice that....