Introduction:
One of
our challenges for 2014 is to learn and live all 50 commands of Jesus. Jesus told us that following
his commandments is a way to love him and a way for his love and his joy to
fill our lives (John 15:9-12). In his Great Commission, Jesus tells his
followers to make disciples of all nations, teaching them to obey everything he
commanded us (Matthew 28:19-20). So each week in this year we are
learning and living one command of Jesus. Here is our command for this
week...
Week 3:
“So in
everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up
the Law and the Prophets,” (Matthew 7:12).
Application:
In week one,
we memorized Jesus’ summary of all the commands from Mark 12:30-31. They divide into two categories: love God and
love others. Last week, we explored our
first command about loving God: seek God first.
Today we look at our first command for loving others. Jesus said this command sums up all the Law
and the prophets. Want to know how to
love others? Here it is…
You may
have heard this command referred to as the Golden Rule. In the positive form, it is phrased like
this: “One should treat others as one would like others to treat oneself.” In the negative form, it is phrased, “one
should not treat others in a way that one would not like to be treated.” This version is known as the Silver Rule.
Elements of
the Golden Rule appear prominently in many religions. Jesus lifts up the Golden Rule as a command
for how to love others. Yet Jesus did
not stop there. As Jesus often did, he
took the commands to a whole new level.
In John 13:34, Jesus said, “A new command I give you: Love one another.
As I have loved you, so you must love one another.” Maybe we could call this the Platinum Rule. Think about how Jesus loved us – he came, he
served, he showed compassion, he called, he forgave, he protected, he defended,
he provided, he empowered, he laid down his life. All who receive his amazing love are commanded
to extend that same kind of love to others.
There are
three levels to our challenge this week: silver, gold, and platinum. Each level gets increasingly more difficult. Yet all three are essential to following the commands of Christ. As you interact with people throughout the
week – at home, in your neighborhood, on the road, at work, at school, with
your church or small group – reflect on one or more of these questions:
Silver Level: How can
I not do to them what I wouldn’t want them to do to me?
Gold Level: How can I
do for them what I would want them to do for me?
Platinum: How can I
love them like Jesus loved us?
Share
your comments and application ideas…
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