"In everything do to others as you would have them do to you; for this is the law and the prophets." Matthew 7:12 NRSV
As I have mentioned before, math is not my strong suit. Oh, I can do the basic stuff, but any advanced math is a struggle. I had some excellent math teachers who taught the fundamentals, mechanics, and theorems. They showed me how to do it, yet it still didn't click. However, I had a fantastic business calculus college professor who helped me change my focus from solving the problem to the question being asked, redirecting me from the hypothetical to the practical. Once I understood what was being asked, the how made more sense.
The most excellent teacher in the Bible was Jesus. He took the complicated contents of the law and prophets and boiled them down to the simplest terms so we might understand. He does this in two places in Matthew, the verse for today, commonly known as “The Golden Rule,” and 22:37-40.
"'You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.' This is the greatest and first commandment. And a second is like it: 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets."
Jesus desires that we understand the simplicity of what it means to be a follower. We should read the Old Testament and understand how it fits into the context of Jesus' message of salvation, but more importantly, we need to take Christ's words and put them into action.
Father, we give thanks for the simple words of Jesus. We confess we have failed in treating others as we want to be treated, we have not loved you as we should, and we have not loved our neighbors. Forgive us; we pray. Help us, through the Holy Spirit, to live the words of Jesus so that others may see your glory. Amen.
Blessings,
Pastor Tim

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