Keeping It Simple
“In everything do to others as you would have them do to you; for this is the law and the prophets.”
– Jesus, in the Gospel of Matthew 7:12
How many times have you thought to yourself, “Why can’t ———— (you fill in the blank) be simpler? Why does everything have to be so complicated, so messy, so contradictory?” You might even wonder, “Why can’t life in general be like it used to be — simpler, easier, even happier?”
If you’ve puzzled along these lines, welcome to a very large club! It’s probably safe to say that people of every generation, stretching back over the ages have asked virtually these same questions. Throughout the Gospels, we find accounts of people coming to hear Jesus teaching about a loving heavenly Father, who had sent his own Son to bring them into relationship with him. To many listeners, however, having lived under the complicated, restrictive laws of Moses for generations, the new gospel sounded too simple to be believable. They were used to struggling to live in accordance with the practices of Judaism so as to be worthy to even worship God. They felt that they were constantly being judged, whether by religious law, the rabbis and elders who interpreted the laws, or even their neighbors.
It seems likely that those who heard Jesus’ preaching, delivered with such authority and promise, were attracted to the message of forgiveness, salvation, and freedom from the oppressive nature of the law. Of course, there were questions: How shall we pray? How and who do we forgive? Who is my neighbor? After centuries of following legalistic paths of behavior, this new way of living and relating to God was a radical change.
Jesus himself told his followers that he came not to abolish the law, but to fulfill it. Addressing more questions of the new Christians, Paul wrote to the church in Rome, explaining that through the law comes the knowledge of sin, but apart from law, the righteousness of God has been disclosed through Christ. (Romans 3:19-26). Martin Luther further taught that people do not make themselves right with God and cannot bridge the gap created by sin. But God, through Jesus, does.
The Golden Rule is one of those little nuggets of wisdom that people are so fond of — a short, concise sentence that keeps it simple and tells us how to live in harmony. Well, don’t we just wish it was all that easy. This isn’t a slick little slogan saying, “be nice to people and they’ll be nice back” — after all, the first two words are “in everything.” These words set the bar very high, making it abundantly clear that we need God, through Jesus, to bridge the gaps that appear between individuals, within communities, and among nations.
We have the teaching and the example of our Lord of how to live as God’s people in the world, and the assurance that, through the life, death, and resurrection of Christ, we are promised life eternal in his presence. So, if you’d like to have someone sharing the Good News with you, maybe you should do that to others!
Your friend in Christ,
Mary Rogers