“Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them: for this is the law and the prophets.” Matthew 7:12
When Jesus was asked (Matthew 22:36-40), “Master, which is the great commandment in the law?” He replied, “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.”
If we truly loved the LORD God with all our heart, soul and mind, we would gladly and willingly obey all His commandments. We would worship and serve Him alone and have no other gods. We would not misuse His name but honor and glorify it in our thoughts, words and deeds. We would not neglect hearing His Word and learning of Him and His ways, but would eagerly read and study His Word, hear it, believe it and heed and abide by its message.
And, if we truly loved our neighbor as ourselves, we would not disobey parents and authorities, kill, commit adultery, steal, bear false witness or even covet. Instead, we would honor our parents and listen to them, protect and preserve life, honor marriage and family, help others keep and protect their property, defend the name and reputation of others and rejoice in God’s blessing upon them.
Indeed, “love is the fulfilling of the law” (Romans 13:10). If we love others, we will not hurt or harm them, dishonor them, seek to take from them their spouse or their property and goods or even wish we could have what is theirs. We will not spread gossip about them or slander them or do anything to hurt them. Rather, we will trust the LORD God to meet all our needs and be thankful for His blessings upon others.
And so Jesus’ words – often called the Golden Rule – are simply a summary of God’s moral law, His Ten Commandments. “Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them.”
Would we want another to hurt or harm us, to take our spouse or break up our family? Would we want another to take away our home or other property or to have someone lusting after it? Would we want anyone to spread rumors and gossip about us and destroy our name and reputation? The answer is obvious. Then, if we love our neighbor as we love ourselves, why would we do any of these things to him? Thus, as Jesus says, “This is the law and the prophets.”
The problem, of course, is not with Jesus’ words or with what He commands us and expects of us. The problem is with you and me – it’s in our hearts – for we think not of others, but of ourselves. We do not love others with the perfect and selfless love God’s law demands. And so, we hurt, kill, commit adultery, defraud and steal, lie and covet – and all for our own selfish purposes. We don’t fear, love and trust in God our Maker, and we take matters into our own hands. Thus, we do not follow the teaching of God’s Word – the Law and the Prophets.
It is God’s will that we heed His law – that we love Him and love our neighbor with a perfect love. How thankful we can be that God the Son, Christ Jesus our Savior, fulfilled this commandment for us – that He dealt with everyone in perfect, selfless love! And, how thankful we can be that He, in love, suffered our punishment upon the cross when He was crucified and died for the sins of the whole world! In Christ Jesus, we who have come so far short have forgiveness and life eternal. In Jesus’ shed blood, our sins are washed away and we are accounted holy and acceptable in God’s sight.
O dear Lord Jesus, thank You for so loving us that You took our place under God’s law and suffered our punishment that we might be pardoned, forgiven and given eternal life. Move us to acknowledge our sins and failures and to trust in Your holy sacrifice for pardon and peace. Move us also to love others and to treat them as we would want them to treat us. Amen.
[Scripture from the King James Version of the Bible]