Just about everyone has heard of the Golden Rule. (They just might not know it comes from Scripture!) “Do to others what you would have them do to you” (Matthew 7:12). This encouragement is a timeless beauty and according to Jesus it also “sums up the Law and the prophets”—That’s quite a statement! Even though all of Mosaic Law and its writings could be summarized this way, the Cliff notes were not enough. The rule needed to be embodied by Jesus as He lived it out in the world for the disciples to see, experience, and eventually capture in the New Testament.
The disciples had varied backgrounds, convictions, and opinions, yet Jesus called them together to learn from Him and knit together with divine wisdom into a new kind of people. The way of the world is to think of and protect yourself at all costs, but the way of Jesus is to think of others and protect them as if they were your own being.
In their time with Jesus, the disciples witnessed a gentle and lowly way that included asking a lot of questions, seeking the heart matter, and opening doors of freedom and healing. Relationship doesn’t ever work when it’s forced… it can’t. So how can we model the way of Jesus in relationships—even when they are hard and disagreements threaten to divide? We can ask good questions without a critical judgemental heart. We can seek to understand a perspective and not immediately dismiss it. And finally, we can knock sensitively on areas (doors) of people’s lives asking for permission to enter to provide wisdom and help. Afterall, isn’t this how you would want to be treated? The Kingdom of God makes its way into the everyday as the way of Jesus is lived out in all our relationships… wouldn’t that be golden?
Jessica Klootwyk
Discipleship Director