We continue our series on the commands of Jesus Christ.
This week, we come to a command that Jesus gave near the end of His Sermon on the Mount. In Luke 6:31, Jesus said, “Do to others as you would have them do to you.”
This command is simple. Yet it is one of the most radical commands Jesus ever gave. It goes against our natural instinct to react, to retaliate, and to protect ourselves.
It calls us to take the initiative in love. But what makes this command uniquely Christian is not the wording. It is the One who gave it and the example He set.
First, this command calls us to act in love, not react in selfishness.
The world teaches us to respond in kind. If someone is kind, we are kind back. If someone hurts us, we hurt them back. But Jesus calls us to something higher.
He calls us to act first. To love first. To serve first. To forgive first. This command is not about waiting for others to be good to us. It is about being good to others regardless of how they treat us.
Notice that Jesus did not say, “Do not do to others what you do not want them to do to you.” That is a negative command which is cautious and passive.
Jesus gave the positive command which is active and intentional. Do good. Take the initiative. Treat others the way you want to be treated, even before they treat you that way. This is the heart of the kingdom of God.
Second, this command is rooted in the character of God and the example of Christ.
What makes this command distinctively Christian is not the words alone but the One who spoke them.
Jesus did not merely teach this command. He lived it. He treated others the way He wanted to be treated even when they did not deserve it. He washed the feet of His betrayer. He healed the ear of the soldier who arrested Him. He forgave those who crucified Him.
This command is not a suggestion. It is a command. And it is the standard by which we will be measured.
How do you want to be treated? That is how you must treat others. Not just your friends. Not just those who can repay you. Everyone. The stranger. The difficult coworker. The family member who hurt you. The person who cannot do anything for you in return.
Do to them what you would want done to you. This is the way of Jesus. This is the way of love. Not because the world says so. But because our Lord commands it. | NWI
