Kingdom Wisdom Part 5

At Keys Vineyard Church, we are presenting a series called ‘Kingdom Wisdom,’ which we post here on Online Bible Institute.

We are in a series called Kingdom Wisdom, looking at the wisdom Jesus gives us for living in the Kingdom of God. Last week we talked about trusting God and knowing that He is good. Jesus told us to ask, seek, and knock. We can come to our Father with confidence because He knows what we need and He gives good gifts to His children. Jesus ends that thought by saying, “How much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!” That is a wonderful picture of the heart of our Father.

Matthew 7:9–12 (NIV)
9 “Which of you, if your son asks for bread, will give him a stone? 10 Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? 11 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! 12 So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.

Then Jesus says something interesting. Verse 12 begins with a little word: “So.” Some translations say, “Therefore.” In other words, because your Father is good, because your Father gives, because your Father can be trusted, this is how you should live. Jesus says, “So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you.” We usually call this the Golden Rule. Most of us have probably heard it many times, but Jesus is giving us much more than a nice rule for polite behavior. He is describing what happens when people who have received the goodness of the Father begin carrying that goodness into the lives of others.

There were sayings in the ancient world that sounded somewhat like the Golden Rule, but they were often expressed negatively. Do not do to someone else what you would not want them to do to you. That is certainly good advice. But Jesus goes further. He does not simply tell us what not to do. He tells us to “do to others.” That is active. It is intentional. It means looking for opportunities to treat people with the same grace, kindness, patience, generosity, and love that we would hope to receive ourselves. That is Kingdom love.

It is possible to go through an entire day without intentionally hurting anyone and still never actually love anyone. I did not insult anyone. I did not steal anything. I did not lose my temper. I did not treat anyone badly. Wonderful. But Jesus invites us to ask another question: What good did I actually do? Who did I encourage? Who did I notice? Who did I help? Who received a little more grace because I was there?

This week we are going to talk about the Golden Rule, but I hope we see that it really begins with the goodness of our Father. We have received His goodness, His grace, and His love. Now Jesus invites us to carry what we have received into the lives of the people around us.

This weekend at Keys Vineyard Church, we will discuss all this and more, so be sure to join us in person or online.

Steve Lawes is a pastor at Keys Vineyard Church and also the founder of the Online Bible Institute Network.