(Day 34)
 |
| what you want done to you, do that |
One of the best known rules of any
society is the one known as “The Golden Rule”, and it says “One should not treat others in ways that one
would not like to be treated.”
Jesus mentioned this same principle
during the Sermon on the Mount, but in a positive way:
(Matthew 7:12) So whatever you wish that
others would do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets.
It is not a coincidence that Jesus
mentioned the “Golden Rule” after speaking about judging. This is because we
tend to judge others harsher than ourselves, while expecting to receive more
mercy when being judged. But Jesus tells us to treat others in ways we would
like to be treated.
Even though this is a wide known
principle throughout the world, it originated in the Torah as a commandment.
This principle of respect and consideration towards others is directly
expressed in the commandment: You shall love your neighbor as
yourself: I am the LORD. (Lev. 19:18)
Paul explained that the whole law is
summed up in this commandment.
(Galatians 5:14) For the whole law is
fulfilled in one word: "You shall love your neighbor as yourself."
(Romans 13:8-10) Owe no one anything, except
to love each other, for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law. For
the commandments, "You shall not commit adultery, You shall not murder,
You shall not steal, You shall not covet," and any other commandment, are
summed up in this word: "You shall love your neighbor as yourself."
Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfilling of the law.
Jesus was even more specific than
Paul when he explained that the whole law may be summed up in two commandments:
loving God and loving your neighbor.
(Matthew 22:36-40) "Teacher, which is the
great commandment in the Law?" And he said to him, "You shall love
the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your
mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You
shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the
Law and the Prophets."
Loving God and loving your neighbor
are like the two faces of the same coin. That is why John said:
(1 John 4:20-21) If anyone says, "I love
God," and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his
brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen. And this
commandment we have from him: whoever loves God must also love his brother.
PRAYER
Lord, I recognize that I must learn
to have a deeper love for my neighbor. I want to learn to love as you have
loved us, because there is no greater love that this, that someone lay down his
life for his friends.
If I speak in the tongues of men and
of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. And if I
have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I
have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If
I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned, but have not
love, I gain nothing.
Lord, I need to learn to love, just
like Your Word says: Love is patient and
kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not
insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at
wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all
things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends.
[John 15:12-13; John 13:34-35; 1 Corinthians
13:1-8]
Comments
Post a Comment