Posted on 06/24/2022 2:46:35 PM PDT by metmom
“‘In everything, therefore, treat people the same way you want them to treat you, for this is the Law and the Prophets’” (Matthew 7:12).
The perfect love of the heavenly Father is most reflected in His children when they treat others as they themselves wish to be treated. This verse is a summary of the Law and the Prophets. It’s also a paraphrase of the second great commandment, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself” (Matt. 22:39). How we treat others is not determined by how we expect them to treat us or by how we think they should treat us, but by how we want them to treat us.
Man’s basic problem is preoccupation with self. In the final analysis, every sin results from that preoccupation. We sin because we are totally selfish, totally devoted to ourselves rather than to God and to others. Unregenerate humanity can never reach the standard of selfless love on its own.
So the dynamic for living this supreme ethic must come from outside our fallen nature. It can come only from the indwelling Holy Spirit, whose firstfruit is love (Gal. 5:22). In Jesus Christ “the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us” (Rom. 5:5). Only Christ’s own Spirit can empower us to love each other as He loves us (John 13:34).
Selfless love serves for the sake of the one being served, and serves in the way it likes being served—whether it receives such service or not. This level of love is the divine level, and can be achieved only by divine help.
Ask Yourself
Sometimes we find ourselves grappling with such deep biblical matters that we overlook the most simple—like the Golden Rule. Try being more deliberate in the coming day to heeding this basic teaching of Jesus. See how it alters the way you approach even your routine interactions with others.
From Daily Readings from the Life of Christ, Vol. 1, John MacArthur. Copyright © 2008. Used by permission of Moody Publishers, Chicago, IL 60610, www.moodypublishers.com.
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Studying God’s Word ping
Thank you for this piece.
When I was growing up, they taught this in school. Adherence to this simple principle would eliminate about 98% of all of our problems.
Same here. We had 60 Boomer kids in our class ran by a Sister of the St. Francis Order. The Golden Rule was a frequent theme. Then there was the Golden Ruler if we didn’t follow it. LOL!
Oh my . . . how far we have fallen! You know, Jesus unjustly bore the shame and guilt for all of mankind on the cross. People have gotten so bad, in my old age I have started to feel shame because of what they do. But shame is a concept for which most people these days do not understand or experience. There are a lot of good folks still left in the world, but we sure do get reminded about a whole lot of bad. Tragic and sad. Have a good weekend.
Peruse later.
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