Read Matthew 7:12-14 

“¹² So whatever you wish that others would do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets. ¹³ Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. ¹⁴ For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few.

Our culture often restates this saying of Jesus as “do unto others as you would have them do to you”. We call this command the Golden Rule because it’s not just a summary of all of the Law and Prophets (the pre-Jesus part of the Bible) but Jesus says it is the Law and the Prophets. Put simply, relating to others as we would have them relate to us is a summary of every doctrine, teaching, command, poem, prayer and story in the Bible.

Significantly, the summary of God’s revelation to mankind isn’t, “Thou shalt not” but rather, “Thou shall”. While Jesus clearly affirms God’s ongoing negative directives to avoid sin, “Do not get drunk”, “Do not lie” and “Do not have sex with someone you’re not married to”, he summarises God’s desire for humanity as a positive directive to love.

Today’s world says if you can simply avoid doing “bad stuff” (e.g. “Don’t be evil”) then you are a “good” person. However, Jesus speaks of a higher way of living. A way in which we don’t just avoid the Devil, but pursue Jesus – imitating God’s design for humanity as modelled by Jesus.

Significantly, this pursuit of Jesus includes a willingness to love people regardless of the response we receive. Jesus didn’t wait for us to reciprocate. His example guides us away from the passivity of the status quo to the brilliance of a life marked by proactive, no-strings-attached love for others.

Interestingly, Jesus clarifies that this kind of life is not a free-for-all, “do what feels good” kind of life. Rather, it’s a life based on “the Law and the Prophets”. Anyone who wants to live this kind of life needs to “enter by the narrow gate”. In other words, he, not we, defines the way to this kind of, “Thou shalt” life. He makes it perfectly clear that while this kind of life is his perfect design, it’s “hard”! The reason is simple; left to ourselves, our society does to others what suits ourselves. It takes God, his laws, Spirit and people to guide us to the narrow gate and the hard road that leads to life!

If there was ever a time when the world needed followers of Jesus to take the hard road and live this kind of proactive life it is now. Jesus’ “golden” strategy is the one that is most likely to truly set us free from our greatest limitation – ourselves.

In what way can you mirror God’s love for others, treating others as you would like to be treated?