Live and Let LiveSample

8. Do Unto Others (Part 2)

Fair Treatment

It is the golden rule to treat others as you would want them to treat you. And Jesus said it sums up the Gospel.

But where is God in this summary? Well, as with most things we are called to, He has already led the way. When we read the verses leading up to our golden gospel rule, we see that Jesus already applied the reversal to His reasoning.

“Ask and you will receive”, “Knock and the door will be opened”, “Seek and you will find.”

We tend to teach on this concerning prayer and perseverance. But how often have we thought about the fact that this promise of God’s provision through our prayers and perseverance sets up the golden rule?

See, Jesus taught that when we pray and persevere, God comes through. Adding that if we mere men who are sinful by nature, almost instinctively want to provide and care for our families, how much more won’t a good God come through for us too. And then Jesus reminds us to treat others as well as we would want to be treated.

If our heavenly Father treats us better than we could ever treat others, how much better should we not, in fact, treat others than? We must live and let live because God lets us live the lives we have and still invites us to live even more fulfilled lives through Him.

Matthew 7:12 is not a warning either, but a command. It is not warning us against certain bad behavior but commanding us to deliberately be at our best behavior. It does not say, “Do not do unto others what you would not want them to do to you.” No, it says, “DO unto others…”

Jesus was calling us to live and let others live in the same manner that God the Father had already let us live with all that we need. It is a call to be proactive, not reactive. It is a call to share the goodness of God we have already tasted. It is a call for us to also keep asking our neighbor what he needs, to keep knocking at our friend’s door, and keep seeking the lost to be found in our everyday lives. And the best thing we’ve tasted from God is the forgiveness of sins unto salvation that we can share with others.

Life is not fair, but God treats us justly. As such, we can be just by treating others fairly. Live and let live, as you would have others do unto you. This is the essence of the Gospel.

Let’s Live and Let Live:

• What ‘good thing’ have you received from God that you can share with others?
• Who is God laying on your heart that you can deliberately do something good for?
• How can we start living intentionally to do good to let others live better, instead of simply avoiding the bad things that will make others live worse?