Just DO It

“So now I am giving you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love each other.”

— John 13:34

Have you ever stopped to consider how many artisan skills God gave to Bezalel in Exodus 35-38? 

He cut and planed the wood. He engraved stone and wood. He spun the wool and created intricate curtains. He hammered the gold into designs. He applied self-fashioned gold sheets around wood. He fashioned the ark of the covenant with the mercy seat atop of it. He created the altars and the water stand where the priests cleansed themselves before entering the temple. He crafted the gold rings to hang the curtains. 

All this Bezalel and Oholiab did by God giving them the skill. They shared this knowledge to individuals to help make parts of the tent of meeting. 

Since God gives those abilities, there’s no way we can’t love our brethren. It’s doable because Jesus gives us the ability since He poured His love into us when we believed in Him. It’s there, trust it is, then step out in faith and put it into action. That brother or sister might not be easily lovable today, but God loved you when you rebelled against him in your sins. Since He could do that, it’s not impossible to be gracious and love the brother or sister who is not easy to like today. 

Like anything God tells us to do, JUST DO IT.

Obedience will change you.

Kindness

 

“But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return; and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High; for He Himself is kind to ungrateful and evil men.”

— Luke 6:35

 

Be kind, like God, to the ungrateful and evil. What does this kindness entail. It comes from a Greek word meaning both kind and good. Only God is good all the time. Only He is so kind to desire good things for evil and ungrateful people. 

 

So about what of this kindness did Jesus speak? What did He mean since we are incapable of doing good all the time, especially if the person has done evil to us? 

 

The Greek word for kind is xrestos. It means to provide what is suitable. We might think the only thing suitable for that evil person is prison, but Jesus’ love sees beyond the evil a person does to who the person is as he/she was created to be. 

 

Xrestos means more than suitable. It means useful and productive. Jesus offers kindness from His love that gives what a person needs to be a useful and productive member of society. He gives a person new life, no longer an outcast who was feared, but a needed and heeded necessary part of that society’s functioning. 

 

Jesus, as the Son of God, thinks beyond this physical plane to the spiritual. The kindness Jesus extends to the evil and ungrateful person makes that person eternally useful. The person is an accepted and useful member in society and, with Jesus’ kindness coming from His love toward this person, the once-evil and ungrateful person receives and accepts Jesus’ lovingkindness, believes in Him, and is saved from his/her sins and old way of life. Jesus’ kindness comes from His love and goodness. 

 

Jesus taught the people to be more than just helpful by giving bread or drink. He told His followers to be kind—giving the lovingkindness He put in them through His Spirit—even to the lowest, most feared, and most cast out. By this, not only may they become useful and productive members of society, they may come to see Jesus in your kindness. These once-evil people will be saved and have eternal life because we—His followers—looked beyond the evil and obeyed Jesus’ words and followed His example. These once-evil people become eternity bound, useful and productive in the scope of God’s eternity from now through beyond time. These feel and know God’s love, then share it. 

 

Be kind to the evil and ungrateful. Before you were saved, you were not good, but evil and ungrateful, too. Be kind because Jesus says to do so. Be kind because the Spirit of Christ dwelling in you has put His love and goodness in you. You will grow and become more useful and productive to God and society. You will grow closer to God and be made more in Jesus’ image. Let the goodness of God shared to you channel through you to whomever Jesus leads you. 

 

Remember what Jesus taught, “But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return; and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High.”

Your Acceptable Sacrifice

 

“Therefore I urge you, brothers, on account of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God, which is your spiritual service of worship.”

Romans 12:1 BSB

 

Fellow believers, because of the mercy and grace God gave you from His love and because it cleansed you, offer your consecrated (set apart by and for God) bodies as living sacrifices—ones revived, cleansed, and given of your free will because of your love of God. 

 

Your offering of this sacrifice is holy (because God consecrated you when you believed in Jesus for salvation) and pleasing (because you willingly offer your living [not dead] and rejuvenated [by Christ] selves) to God. 

 

Your offering of your redeemed self to God out of love for Him is your spiritual service of worship. 

 

Remember God redeemed you. He consecrated you. Therefore, you can go into His presence. Your offer of yourself to Him is accepted because He cleansed you through Jesus’ redemption of you. God did the work so you could be with Him and so your service and offering would be acceptable to Him. 

 

God asks for nothing greater than your whole being because of your love and obedience of/to Him. That is relationship. That loving obedience is worship. It is spiritual and service to/for God. 

Your worship of God should occur as your response to His loving mercy and forgiveness of you.

 

Give your redeemed self lovingly and in obedience to God for His purposes. Love Him with your redeemed offering of yourself.

Timeless

 

“In everything, then, do to others as you would have them do to you. For this is the essence of the Law and the Prophets.”

— Matthew 7:12

 

Let’s consider this whole passage.

 

“For this is (the essence or summation)” comes from the similar meaning as “now and forever,” i.e. eternally. The verb “is” is time inclusive, present indicative. It has timeless implications. Jesus used it in calling Himself, “I AM.” It speaks of His eternity and self-existent self.

 

So, the teaching of this verse, “do to others as you want them to do to you,” is a timeless command that Jesus used to sum up the previous eleven verses in His Sermon on the Mount and to sum up God’s command about caring for all creation, including human life. This command didn’t go away when the Old Testament period ended or when Jesus ascended to heaven or when the modern or post-modern times began. 

 

This verse, verse twelve, sums up the previous eleven verses. 

       *Don’t judge other people. (Vs 1-5)

       *Don’t continue to teach God’s truths 

         to people who continue to malign   

         and curse you and what you teach.     

         “Don’t throw pearls to swine.” (Vs 6) 

         They will only continue to twist 

         God’s truths, curse them, and/or       

         speak derisively about them. Obey 

         God then let Him work in the 

         person’s heart.

       *Don’t ignore someone when they 

         seek you, ask for your help, and or 

         plead for something from you. 

         Just as when you ask of something 

          from God, seek Him, and knock on 

          His door to visit with or beseech Him 

          and He responds by providing, 

          opening His door to you, and 

          listening, so you do to others. (Vs 7-

          8). But remember about pearls and 

          swine. 

        *Don’t give what won’t fill the need for 

          what they asked. For example, fry 

          beans to a homeless person, who 

          has no stove, will not give him food 

          to eat. It would be the equivalent of

          stones in his stomach. Giving fruit, 

          vegetables, or meat that is starting 

          to spoil or is spoiled is just as 

          dangerous as giving a snake 

          instead of a fish to eat.

 

In all these instances, do as you want to be done to you. It’s a timeless command, as timeless as Jesus and His love. It never goes away. It’s based on love and care for humanity, the pinnacle of God’s creation. Jesus came to earth because of His love for all people, a love that fed, healed, taught, forgave, and died for them. 

 

Jesus taught His disciples to follow His example. And, the base of it is love for all people. Do as Jesus did and does and will do for you. Do to others what you want them to do to you—love them in action and word and in truth. Teach. Feed. Pray over. Forgive. Help. With the means God has given to you, do to others as He has done for you.