New Testament Journey Day 25 – Matthew 7:12 – The Golden Rule

Since it is only one verse today I’m going to type it as well as the commentary… “Do to others whatever you would like them to do to you. This is the essence of all that is taught in the law and the prophets.”

This verse, if followed, would be life altering and world changing. In some religions they say this verse with a more negative connotation of “Don’t do to others what you wouldn’t want them to do to you.” But Jesus stated this with a positive spin and made it more significant. It isn’t very hard to refrain from harming others; it is often much more difficult to take the initiative to do something good for them. The Golden Rule, just as Jesus formulated it, is the foundation of active goodness and mercy. The kind of love that God shows to us today and every day.

Yesterday I saw pictures of a severely damaged car on FB. Upon reading the post it was due to ice flying off one car and hitting another causing them to wreck. My husband has chauffeured me to work all week in the truck. Today I decided it was time to try to unbury my car and drive myself to work. I went out and started it up to defrost the windows and heat up. I went back out a few minutes later and realized it was encased in ice. I got up early this morning to have time to read my bible, drink a cup of coffee and type this commentary. But as I looked at my car encased in ice I had two choices – chip away and scrape just enough ice off the windows to see and drive to work and still have time for my coffee – or take up all that extra time I allowed to remove ALL the ice from my car so I didn’t put anyone driving behind me at risk. I knew what today’s verse was – and instantly the decision was easy. I wouldn’t want to get hit by a big chunk of ice off someone’s car, so I should clean mine off to “Do for others what I would want them to do for me.”

My youngest son is a mechanic. He has told me more than once how he stopped to help someone along the road, or bought someone lunch when he knew they were short on cash. I told him how proud I was of him and he’d say “Well mom, I would want someone to do that for me if I needed help.” And I truly believe that when we put good out into the world, we reap what we sow! Think of a good and merciful action you can do today. Due to the current situation of many, opportunities abound. Love Like Jesus.

Stay warm and be blessed -Kris