Last night I was given the opportunity to hear Rich Little speak. No, not that Rich Little, the preacher Rich Little. He’s heading out to be a professor at Pepperdine and was speaking in town last night. He was very engaging as he spoke of sharing the grace with have received with other people. The whole time he was whittling away on stage, I keep thinking to myself, that these ideas seem like they are a little risky, and radical. He spend most of the night exposing hidden secrets from Matthew 7, part of Jesus’ famous Sermon on the Mount. However, it was the place he ended that really started me thinking:
12So 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
How simple! The entirety of the law in 11 words. “Do to others what you would have them do to you”. But how complex and how radical. How many times have your heard this relay in word or action as “Do to others before they do to you?” or “Do to others as they do to you?” But Jesus, always the radical, says “Treat them how you want to be treated.” How many times to I tell my boys those exact same words?
But can we really live that way? I mean, I know that I want the people I work with to bring me ice cream at 3pm every afternoon. Hm, I wonder maybe if thats what I want then I should bring ice cream to them at 3pm. Or I should find out what they like and bring that to them. For many of my co workers that may be a bowl of gajar halwa.
But I guess its more then ice cream. Its the words we use, its the way we listen. Its the attention that we give to others. Its our concern. It’s a text message of encouragement, a smile, forgiveness and mercy and grace.
Hm, sounds radical and risky. Maybe its worth some serious prayer and attention. I know that I would want you to do it for me.
Are you summing it up today?