“The word so indicates that Jesus’s teaching is his conclusion from what he’s said previously. The entire Sermon on the Mount might be in view.
But it may be that Jesus is thinking more specifically of what he has just said, in Matthew 7:7–11.
‘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!’
There he tells his followers that God is their loving Father and always gives good things to those who ask.
Therefore, because God is so generous to us, we’re to be lavishly generous to others.
The Golden Rule is glorious overflow.”
Read the rest of Stephen Witmer’s article at desiringGod to find out
Does this make you think differently about the Golden Rule, what it means, and how it plays out in your interactions with others?
Who has been “lavishly generous” to you?
Who have you helped to “achieve what is best for them”?
These three remain, faith, hope and love, and greatest of these is love. 1 Corinthians 13:13 graphic from LIGHTSTOCK.COM, affiliate
exploring the Golden Rule
Dr. Aletha
In another post based on Matthew 7 I wrote
” She thought about a young man she knew whose life had gotten “sidetracked”, and suddenly realized her negative attitude toward him wasn’t helping. As she began thinking about him in a more positive way, she saw ways that his life could be turned around that she had not considered before. Her new attitude seemed to create an ability to see a new vision for his life that she hadn’t been able to before. “
The author recounts an experience of losing power for five days due to an ice storm that caused widespread power outages in the city. With no electricity, they discovered the critical role that light plays in daily life and how its absence affected various activities. The experience underscored the importance of light, its shared nature and its inviolable value, mirroring the biblical teaching of letting one’s light shine before others.
“You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden.
Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead, they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house.
In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.”
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The day my lights went out
On a cold December morning, I awoke to no electric power in my house; so I had no heat, no coffee, no hot breakfast, and no television or internet access that day. And neither did thousands of other people in my city.
During the previous night as rain fell, it quickly turned to ice so thick that it brought down exposed power lines. It also took down tree limbs which in turn knocked down more power lines. By dawn, a city of a half million people was largely without power, including my home and the clinic where I practiced.
Upon arising, we started navigating the challenge of life without electricity. We were cold, and could not cook, wash clothes, watch TV, use our computer, or recharge our cell phones.
So, after opening our automatic garage door manually, we drove around looking for an open restaurant, finding traffic signals not working, and many businesses closed. I didn’t go to my clinic since it didn’t have power either.
Somehow we made it through the day; it was something of an adventure at that point. But at sunset, we faced an evening and night in the dark.
My house had no power for 5 days, some people as long as 2 weeks. By the third day, my clinic reopened so I had access to a computer, could charge my phone, and had a warm place to spend the day.
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As inconvenient as all the other things were, the thing I missed most was light.
I felt grateful to have candles and flashlights, but they weren’t the same as being able to flip a switch on the wall or turn the switch on a lamp and have bright light flood the room.
By living in the dark for 5 days I learned…
I should not take light for granted.
Natural sunlight lasts from 8 to 14 hours per day, depending on the season and where you live- unless you live at the north or south pole, where you may be in darkness for 24 hours part of the year. Once the sun sets, you are in darkness unless you create light in some way.
Light is a great equalizer.
It didn’t matter who you were or what part of town you lived in. Rich and poor and everyone in between experienced the power outage. Some people had generators or were lucky enough to find a store with one for sale. Otherwise, you were in the dark.
Life without light is difficult.
Sitting in the living room listening to our battery-powered TV (now a relic) by candlelight, wrapped up in blankets wasn’t too bad. I just had to remember to take a flashlight to go to the bathroom or into my closet to change clothes. With no power or windows to catch a little moonlight, these areas of my home were pitch black.
We couldn’t cook, and could not safely store perishable food- I had to throw away everything in the refrigerator and freezer by the third day. We quickly tired of peanut butter and crackers. Dirty clothes stayed dirty for the time being.
Power company crews worked around the clock, helped by crews from other cities and states. It still took 2 weeks to get power back to everyone. It took even longer to get all the broken tree limbs picked up from streets and yards and hauled off to a central site for burning. Subsequently, the city undertook a plan to trim trees that posed a hazard to power lines and to bury power lines.
Light should be shared with others.
Residents and businesses who had power invited others in, providing places to eat, wash clothes, charge phones, and stay warm. We were all in this together, and everyone seemed to make an extra effort to be kind to each other.
We enjoyed a view of the lights of New York City from the Empire State Building
The Sermon on the Mount
The scripture I quoted above is from Matthew in the New Testament. It’s part of a passage usually called the Sermon on the Mount because Jesus taught these lessons on a mountain to the people who were following him. So it may not have been exactly what we now consider a sermon. Luke also records Jesus teaching many of the same lessons but at different times. His words taught how people should relate to God and to each other. Here is another post I wrote about Jesus’ teachings in the Sermon on the Mount.
Also well known and often quoted is a daily devotional book, “My Utmost for His Highest”, by Oswald Chambers. Some call it the most beloved devotional book of all time.
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