One of the most known and quoted verses in the bible is Luke 6:31, its known as THE GOLDEN RULE. Jesus says, "as you want men to do unto you, do the same to them". The popular version says, "do unto others as you would have them do unto you". Jesus is so wise. If we could all follow this one rule of God, the world would change overnight. The words are so powerful, that even the secular world acknowledges this truth.
If you want help, then don't deny help to someone in need. If you want love, then show love to others. If you wish to be spoken to with respect, then speak respectfully to others. And most importantly, if you want mercy in your time of failure, then show mercy to someone in their time of failure. Its not at all hard to understand this, its just not always within our nature to do it. The pharisees in the bible loved the law of God so much, that they defended it, even at the expense of people. They didn't appreciate this Golden Rule. Rebuke and judgement are all proper when used with gospel hope as as end. But without restoration as a goal, the bible says, "the letter of the law killeth".
I like how Jesus taught this lesson of the Golden Rule. He never gives us permission to overlook or compromise the sin issue, but he asks us to consider ourself. In 1 Cor 10:12, scripture says, "whoever thinks he standeth, take heed lest you fall", and then in Gal 6:1, it says "if someone is caught in a sin, restore him...lest you also be tempted". Christ asks us to use ourself as a guide for deciding how we deal with others. Remember this; Sin is deceptive. Sin can make us proud and judgemental, but it can also make of foul and disgusting. We should rejoice and be grateful when we walk in victory, but remember things could change quickly. When others need a word of encouragement, rememeber it might be you that needs the encouragement in the future. Because we all have sinned, we are all in a sense, on the same team. Our duty must be to help each other up, and push each other higher. Do unto others, as you would have them do unto you. This is christianity. Jesus is just so good, Aint He?
