Luke 6:31-38  – “Do to others as you would have them do to you.  ³² “If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you?  Even sinners love those who love them.  ³³ And if you do good to those who are good to you, what credit is that to you?  Even sinners do that.  ³⁴ And if you lend to those from whom you expect repayment, what credit is that to you?  Even sinners lend to sinners, expecting to be repaid in full.  ³⁵ But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back.  Then your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked.  ³⁶ Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.  ³⁷ “Do not judge, and you will not be judged.  Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned.  Forgive, and you will be forgiven.  ³⁸ Give, and it will be given to you.  A good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over, will be poured into your lap.  For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.”

As I read, prayed, and mused on the Word of God today, numerous things challenged me.  We know what we call ‘The Golden Rule,’ but do we connect it in the context of Luke 6?

In Luke 6:31, we have the Golden Edict.  In verses 35-36, we find the directive on how to relate to and respond to others, especially those who dislike us and have wronged us.  We see those but seem to miss the context and connection of verses 37-38.

The Law of Harvest or Sowing and Reaping is powerfully revealed in these verses.  Judging provides the platform for our own judgment.  Forgiveness offers the doorway to our own forgiveness.  Then we come to verse 38.  We make it an isolated, stand-alone promise, but it is connected to the Golden Rule and God’s Law of Life!

One word outshines all the others in verse 38.   That is the two-letter word “IT.”   Yes, IT.   The IT is the object.   Whatever IT is, or no matter what IT is, it is returned to us multiplied.

If we live by the Golden Rule, we also enjoy the Law of Harvest.   If we live the Golden Rule, God is always first, and we always focus on others, which opens heaven for us.  It opens the hearts of people and opens heaven to bless us.

The Law of Life is found in Luke 6.  Our objective should be total surrender, which brings total transformation, which enables us to live the Golden Rule, which produces the Law of Harvest in us.

That Harvest is not only our blessing but brings others into the kingdom.  It is a perpetual cycle of love and mercy!  It comes to us, then through us, then to us so that it can go out through us.   We will reap what we sow, so choose your seed wisely.

Father, help each of us to become linkers, linking the Scripture into the Full Message!