By: Mike Kelly
Retired Pastor
We’re still in our series on the Sermon on the Mount which is Jesus’s teachings that shook up the entire Jewish understanding of Scriptures and leaves us obeying God’s will that is totally at odds with the world.
We live in this upside-down kingdom influenced by both the ways of society and the directions of the Lord. And talk about things going in different directions!
While our society is reaching unprecedented heights of selfishness, the commands of Jesus leave us no choice but to lay down our rights in order to serve Him and humanity.
Our new calling is: “So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.” (Matt 7:12)
We see that Matt 7:7-11 are simply illustrations of this overarching premise.
“Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.
Which of you, if your son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!”
If we ask, our Father will give and if others ask of us, we are to give to them. If we seek, our Father will allow us to find whatever it is.
If others ask us to show them, we will. If we knock, our Father will open the door and if others knock, we are to be generous to them as well.
After all, we don’t give our son a stone when he asks for bread or a snake when he asks for fish. Even though we are selfish, we give to those we love as generously as we can.
How many times have you been disappointed because someone failed to meet your expectations? We live in a society which means we have responsibilities to others.
Unfortunately, we are basically selfish creatures. We don’t mind sometimes giving a little but what we have is ours and we want to keep it.
Our attitude is often, I earned it, it is mine. Go earn yours! “Here’s a quarter towards a $1.50 cup of coffee.”
If we were down, how would we want to be treated? I oversee the Sanctuary Homeless Shelter in Bryan, and I have often used the illustration that the people we serve are somebody’s son or daughter, or mother or father, brother or sister, or friend’s child. Would I want someone to be there for my daughter if I couldn’t?
And how would I want them to treat her? Would I want them to turn her away because her skin color didn’t match theirs?
Would I want them to give her a spot on the floor with a ratty blanket? Would I want them to take advantage of her? Or would I want them to give her the best they can offer? Would I want them to protect her from harm, even if she is the one harming herself?
Would I want them to feed her slop on a tray as if she were in some third world prison or would I want them to meet her nutritional needs with generosity?
Verse 12 clearly tells Believers that Jesus wants us to treat others the same way we would want to be treated. The same way He treats us.
So, are you? Are you doing what Jesus commands: to treat others with the same gentleness, love, cooperation, generosity, kindness that we would hope to receive if the roles were reversed?
And this isn’t just about poverty or a hard season in life. This principle applies to helping those who may be rich in material goods but are poor in spirit.
Who “have it all” but are fearful. To the ones alone in the nursing home who have outlived their family or who live a great distance from their friends.
To those who messed up and ended up in prison. To your spouse who has given so much and asked for so little.
“So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.” (Matt 7:12) May God find us doing his will today.
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Mike Kelly is the founding pastor of Bryan’s Grace Community Church (retired) and Board Chairman of Bryan’s Sanctuary Homeless Shelter and Williams County’s Compassion (free) Medical Clinic.
