MOVING AWAY FROM COMFORT TOWARDS OTHERS NEEDS THROUGH THE GOLDEN RULE

“So [or: therefore] whatever you wish that others would do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets.” Matthew 7:12

During the first quarter of the nineteenth century, toward the end of Beethoven's life, an unknown musician made a small altera­tion in the construction of the harpsichord that subsequently altered the whole development of western music. Before his time most of what we call piano music was composed for that instrument, but because of its design the music itself was quite limited. The strings of a harpsichord are plucked by a small hook, producing a sound even in intensity and similar to that of a harp. In this change the hook was replaced by a hammer, so that the string was struck rather than plucked. This minute alteration made all the difference mu­sically, for the dynamic range of the instrument was greatly in-creased. The harpsichord became a piano. And the way was paved for the dramatic and thrilling compositions of Rachmaninoff, Schu­mann, Brahms, Liszt and Chopin. The development of music then revolved to a large degree around the piano, just as it had previously revolved around the organ during the Baroque era.

This story illustrates the dynamic kind of change that God desires to bring into your life. Jesus demands from us a radical new way to live, to move away from the pursuit of our personal comfort, and instead, to move towards others needs. We find this in His profound calling for His followers in one of the most famous verses in the Bible. We know it as the Golden Rule: a name given to this passage around the 17th century. But first we must see…

I. THE ROOT OF CHRIST’S TEACHING

The first word is key here in verse 12. In the ESV, it is “so.” “So whatever you wish that others would do to you . . . .” Other translations use ‘therefore”. I think “therefore.” is a stronger translation of the Greek word oun. They mean the same thing. That’s a very important word. The word “so” or “therefore” is used 1039 x’s in scripture. There is a whole worldview in that word. When Jesus says, “So . . .” He is saying: The life I am calling you to live (in verse 12) is built on something. It doesn’t come out of nowhere. It has roots. It has a foundation. Christian living has roots. It has foundation. It has causes and grounds and reasons. And that is no small thing! Because of all the truth about God as our heavenly Father therefore we are to build our practical lives on this. Jesus moves us from the foundation to application in our relationships with people with the word “therefore.”

This great ‘therefore’ flows from what Jesus just said in verses 7-11, "Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened. Or which one of you, if his son asks him for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a serpent? If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him! ". Our Lord’s teaching on the greatness of the Father and the nature of the Father goes before what Jesus is about to say and supports what Jesus is about to say. This great vision of the reality of God our Father, this powerful truth leads somewhere-moving away from comfort and towards need. I know that there are those who see so little of the greatness of God and beauty of Christ in this that it simply has little or no affect upon how they live. What God does to us, for us, and in us in His Fatherly provision, the meeting of our needs, and our trusting prayerful love back to Him, is meant to be the truth, the foundation, the source of power, freedom, and the launch-pad for living the kind of life that Jesus is about to say to us. So Jesus says, “Because of the Fathers love, mercy, kindness, care, grace, and generous provision in giving me only good things to meet my needs, therefore, you are to live this way.”

Christian living is built on something! O reader build your lives on the greatness and goodness of God. Let us say, Because of the greatness and goodness of God towards me in Christ I will live the life of moving away from my seeking comfort and will move towards others needs.

II. THE ESSENCE OF CHRIST’S TEACHING

So where does the word so or therefore lead us? Keep the Golden Rule: “So [or: therefore] whatever you wish that others would do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets.” This verse really is a good commentary on Matthew 22:40, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” There he says that the law and prophets hang on this commandment and the first commandment to love God with all your being. Here He says that this is the law and the prophets. In other-wards, loving people and doing unto others what you would wish that they do to manifests visibly and publicly and practically what the Old Testament is about. They fulfill the law and prophets by making the aim of loving God visible. Loving God however is invisible. It is the internal passion of the soul. But it comes to expression when you love others. So loving others is the outward manifestation, the visible expression, the practical demonstration, and therefore the fulfillment of loving God and therefore what the Old Testament is all about.

So there is a sense that loving your neighbor and doing unto others is the visible goal of the Word of God. Paul says in 1 Timothy 1:5, “The goal of all teaching is love, which comes from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith.” Loving our neighbors is based upon our love for God and is the overflow and outflow of it so that people “see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven” (Matthew 5:16)

To be continued...

Pastor Bill