Simply That (Friday Devotional)

 

In everything do to others as you would have them do to you, for this is the Law and the Prophets.

- Luke 7:12

The verse above is one of the most famous in all of Scripture—so famous, in fact, that many don’t even realize its source is the Bible! The Golden Rule, as it’s become known, is something we teach our kids at an early age; it’s a guiding behavioral principle everywhere from the playground to the boardroom.

In fact, it’s such a fundamental belief that many will go so far as to say that it’s all you need to understand about what God expects from us. At first glance, that seems to be what Jesus is saying when he declares, “for this is the Law and the Prophets”—the Golden Rule is a sort of summary statement, the be-all and end-all of the Lord’s teachings.

That’s what one man seemed to believe when, stuck in a crowded railroad car with the Episcopal bishop George Craig Stewart, he said, “Want to hear my religion, sir? It is the Golden Rule—simply the Golden Rule.” But Stewart seemed unimpressed with the man’s take, and his response is instructive: “Want to hear my astronomy, sir? Twinkle, twinkle, little star—simply that.”

The Golden Rule is a building block, a foundational statement, an effective illustration of how God wants us to live—but if you stop there, you are robbing yourself of miles of spiritual depth. The words of the Golden Rule are useful, but seeing them put in practice upon the cross is far more powerful. Its proverbial nature is memorable, but how much more memorable is it to see it lived out by a community of believers?

The truth is, the divorcing of the Golden Rule from the Savior who said it is a tragedy of shortsightedness. Following the Golden Rule is a wonderful starting place, but it should come as a result of following Jesus, not as an alternative to doing so. The Golden Rule is the Law and Prophets, as Jesus said—but he is their fulfillment.

So as you live your life, do unto others as you would have them do unto you. Follow the Golden Rule. But follow it all the way to the cross, where Jesus didn’t just give us the rule’s fairness—he gave us his grace.