Bible Reading: Luke 6:27-36 Do for others as you would like them to do for you. Luke 6:31
YOU MIGHT SEND your heart into a spasm figuring out what to wear to a party. You might not know the music you’re supposed to have memorized for your next concert. You might have dropped your script book for the class play in a sewer. And you might discover your brain is dry when you try to squeeze out a few drops of geometry during your next math test.
But you can know the right way to live life-every time. There’s only one over arching, always-right, basic moral absolute. Here it is: Always love.
God’s command to love is an absolute because it has no exceptions. It applies to all people at all times in all places. Know how you know? Because even people who are hateful or indifferent object when others treat them hatefully or indifferently. In other words, you might feel okay about ignoring others or spinning rumors about them or calling them names. But if they do any of that stuff to you, you feel wronged. That’s how you know love is an absolute-and that anything less than love is wrong.
The law of love even crosses lines of culture and faith. People everywhere want to be loved-to be treated with fairness, respect, courtesy, and honesty. People-except for a few who are mentally unhinged-aren’t happy when they are assaulted, abused, slandered, lied to, cheated, robbed, made fun of, or ignored. Those things make everyone angry! People everywhere expect better than that.
Think about yourself. You no doubt hope for positive, loving treatment from people. And you no doubt get a little heated when you fail to receive the treatment you expect, right? When you help your little brother with his homework, for example, you expect him to appreciate your help-and you feel disappointed, hurt, or frustrated when he takes you for granted. You expect your teachers to grade fairly and you go ballistic when they play favorites.
People demand nothing less than to be loved-and that demands nothing less from us than we should love. We know it’s right. If you admit that you hope for and insist on loving treatment from others, then your expectation demands you love others with the same love you expect for yourself.
Jesus said it all when he spoke the Golden Rule: “Do for others what you would like them to do for you” (Matthew 7:12).
REFLECT: What does it mean that God’s law of love is an “absolute”? How do you know that?
PRAY: God, I want to love others as I need to be loved. Help me to love as you Love.
