Golden Rule II...Agape Love for my Neighbor

How did you do with Loving Yourself as a Child of the King? This week we'll look at living the Golden Rule (Do unto others, as you want them to do to you), in how we love our neighbors. Not just the people living next door or working in the next office, but seeing each person we meet as a neighbor.

Loving your neighbor may not be the same as liking them. Rather it is each of us seeing everyone we meet as an individual and as deserving of God’s love because they, too, are royalty. We don’t have to be in competition with one another because God has enough love to go around.

It’s a trap that is easy to fall into. Our own insecurities make it so easy to try to find something “wrong” with our neighbor in order to feel better about ourselves. Jesus suggests a better way. He says, “Do not judge, and you will not be judged; do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven; give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap; for the measure you give will be the measure you get back.” (Matthew 7:1, Luke 6:37) The Golden Rule is one measure of how we can love, forgive, and give to one another.

Jesus then goes on to ask “Why do you see the speck in your neighbor’s eye, but do not notice the log in your own eye? Or how can you say to your neighbor, “Friend, let me take out the speck in your eye,” when you yourself do not see the log in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your neighbor’s eye.”

That log in my eye is my inability to see you as a fellow child of God. I can be happily superior when I notice that you have a ‘speck’ in your eye, while complacently ignoring the log blocking my own vision.

Golden Rule.com is a call to Agape Love—active, unconditional, self-giving love as defined in I Corinthians 13:4-7. We’ve all heard the citation: “Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.” It’s easy to recite the words, but not always easy to live them. That’s where GoldenRule.com comes in.

Golden Rule.com love—seats the despised at table.
Golden Rule.com love—washes the feet of those who we differ with.
Golden Rule.com love—embraces the leper.
Golden Rule.com love—offers the coat you are using to the one who has none.
Golden Rule.com love—puts others first.
Golden Rule.com love—believes that everyone is a fellow beloved Child.


Animals can sometimes teach us more than anything else. Reader’s Digest recently highlighted animal heroes who saved their families in spectacular ways. There are innumerable stories about dogs helping raise orphaned squirrels or puppies or even tiger cubs. Recently one story made the email rounds about a cat who acts as a seeing eye helper to the family dog who is blind. Cashew is a blind 14 year old Lab and Libby is a 7 year old cat who goes everywhere with him to make sure he gets to his food and anywhere else he wants to go. It's a touching story, that teaches us something important.

If the creatures we call ‘dumb animals’ can cross species boundaries--even interacting with natural enemies, then we should be inspired to extend our hand across cultural boundaries without fear. We are each loved unconditionally by God. Jesus died for each person, not just those we consider good or proper. What can you do to love your neighbor?

Maybe it’s a note or card or email that says ‘hi.’
Perhaps it’s a thoughtful action like picking up a dropped paper in passing their desk.
Possibly it’s extending your hand to someone in need.
Or it might be just a hug that says ‘I’m here for you.’
Often it's just a smile as you pass a stranger on the street.
It could be that you feel the need to forgive someone who you feel has wronged you, keeping in mind that forgiveness is more about you letting go and moving on than about changing the other person or excusing what happened.

Share some of your ways of loving your neighbor. Doesn’t the act of friendship and kindness bring you into a closer relationship?


See you next week when the topic is "Loving Past Worry".

Golden Rule I...Love Yourself

Living the Golden Rule can only be done by living another ancient mandate: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and mind and soul and strength, and your neighbor as yourself.” (Leviticus 19:18, Matthew 22:37, Mark 12:28, Luke 10:25). It is one of the oldest commandments about how to live in community.

In Genesis 1 we learn that God created everything, including humankind, and declared “It is good.” In Michelangelo's famous depiction in the Sistine Chapel, we see man reaching toward God's finger in an image reminiscent of the way a baby grasps a parent's finger.

We are each a Beloved Child of the One who created us—the King of Kings. Because of that, we each deserve to be treated as being a Princess or Prince by one another!

Matt. 7:7-11 tells us that God loves us so much that when we, “Ask, and it will be given to you; search, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened for you. For everyone who asks receives, and everyone who searches finds, and for everyone who knocks, the door will be opened.” Jesus asks, “Is there anyone among you who, if your child asks for bread, will give a stone? Or if the child asks for a fish, will give a snake? If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good things to those who ask him!”

In the same way this peacock mom is carefully watching and guiding her chick, (he's there between her feet and the bush), our loving Father gives us what we need. We each yearn to be treated as a Beloved Child, as a Princess or Prince. Too often we don’t believe we are loved by God. That rubs off in the way we treat others. We strive to grab all we can and to be first and “win” and forget that what we “do unto others” comes home to roost in their response to us.

The flip side is that when I realize that I’m a beloved child of the King of Kings, I can love myself—no matter what shape or size I am or what I may have done wrong in the past. Through God’s forgiveness I can start anew and live like a true member of the royal family. True royalty does not oppress, but rather eases the load of others. Loving yourself is the place to start living GoldenRule.com.

GoldenRule.com is: believing you are beloved of God.
GoldenRule.com is: believing that God loves you, just as you are.
GoldenRule.com is: loving yourself as God does.
GoldenRule.com is: forgiving yourself for all the little and big mistakes, just like God does.
GoldenRule.com is: letting God bless you.
GoldenRule.com is: asking God for all you need.
GoldenRule.com is: accepting God’s gifts day by day.
GoldenRule.com is: living your life as God’s beloved child—a son or daughter of the King of Kings.


The little kitty certainly is contented and knows he's loved--how often do you feel that way? Start this journey toward living the Golden Rule by doing something nice for yourself.
Maybe it is as simple as telling yourself that you are valued. (Not really as simple as it sounds, sometimes.)
Perhaps it is allowing yourself to take some time to do nothing!
Could be reading that book you’ve been putting off.
Possibly loving yourself means treating yourself to a new outfit or a special meal.

What are some of the ways you love yourself? Don’t you feel more loving toward others when you care for yourself first?

See you next week for Agape Love...

Golden Rule.com, an introduction

Nearly everyone knows what the Golden Rule is: “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you." Even more simply stated it is: “Treat others as you want to be treated.” It is part of Jesus’ teaching on life. It is found in both Matthew (7:21) and Luke (6:31).

There are some recent ‘social movements’ like “Pay it Forward” and “Random Acts of Kindness” that encourage us to think of the needs of others. Oprah Winfrey even gave $1000 to people so they can “make a difference” and People Magazine recognized everyday heroes who are making a difference. GoldenRule.com is a bit different.

GoldenRule.com is not me alone or you alone.
GoldenRule.com is Christian women and men choosing day by day and even moment by moment to make Jesus’ words their Rule of Life.
GoldenRule.com is deciding to “Treat everyone in the way you would expect to be treated” in all your actions and relationships.
GoldenRule.com is more than an ethical way of life.
GoldenRule.com demands dedication and self sacrifice to consciously put other people first.
GoldenRule.com calls us to be a living website manifesting God’s Golden Rule.

Easy—no. Rewarding—yes.

From the Hebrew Scriptures (Old Testament) to Native American spirituality and even Humanism and Wicca, the Golden Rule concept is found in most belief systems. Some of these statements sound very similar to “Do unto others as you would have them do to you.” Here are just a few examples.

"All things are our relatives; what we do to everything, we do to ourselves. All is really one." Black Elk
"Don't do things you wouldn't want to have done to you” British Humanist Society.
"An it harm no one, do what thou wilt." The Wiccan Rede.

In a world where everyone often seems to be at odds with everyone else, the Golden Rule is a good place to return to. How do you live out this Golden Rule, esp. when there is conflict and confusion? GoldenRule.com is a place to come to for an exchange of ideas on how we can live our lives by the Golden Rule and learn to treat others as we would like to be treated.

Golden Rule.com is a challenge to change the way you interact with those in your life. Check back every week for meditations on living out GoldenRule.com. You can share your successes and your failures by commenting so that we are all encouraged and strengthened.

Ecclesiastes (4:9-12) reminds us, “Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their work: If one falls down, his friend can help him up. But pity the man who falls and has no one to help him up! Also, if two lie down together, they will keep warm. But how can one keep warm alone? Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.”

Together we will strengthen each other in following the Golden Rule. John Donne states us “No man is an island entire of itself; every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main; if a clod be washed away by the sea, Europe is the less, as well as if a promontory were, as well as any manner of thy friends or of thine own were; any man's death diminishes me, because I am involved in mankind. And therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls; it tolls for thee.”

We are meant to live our faith journeys in community with one another and the internet can extend that community beyond our immediate friends and neighbors. For the next 4 weeks we will look at some citations in Matthew and Luke related to the Golden Rule and how they inform our actions toward our Family, Friends, Acquaintances, and even Strangers. A good place to start is with the Great Commandment. Come back next week to explore the connection between the two citations.

A little visual aid to help you is an Infinity Loop with the Golden Rule on one side and the Great Commandment on the other. When you twist it correctly, you will have a never ending loop and can trace the Golden Rule and then the Great Commandment without picking up your finger. A 2-sided paper has become an endless loop that reminds us of our plan to live the Golden Rule.

You can download directions at: http://cynthiadavisauthor.com/Enrichment.htm

Waiting on the Lord

"New every morning is the love our wakening and uprising prove ...” John Keble, 1822

It’s a surprising fact of nature that it is the clouds that bring us the most beautiful sunrises and sunsets. The light refracted through the clouds creates colors and highlights the outlines of the clouds that we might otherwise overlook.

It’s a surprising blessing that it is the storms of life that bring us closer to God. How many times in scripture do we find the servants of the Lord encountering storms of one kind or another? Think about Noah, Abraham, Leah, Naomi, David, Daniel...the list goes on and on. Yet, through it all, God was present. As Keble’s hymn says, “Some softening gleam of love and prayer shall dawn on every cross and care.” It is the storms of life that bring our faith into relief as the Light shines from behind the clouds.

Often, the storm experience makes us feel like we are in a desert with no way out and even prayer seems dry and fruitless. During these times we learn to focus and depend on God. Then we wait until God is ready for us to act. Moses, Joseph, Elijah, and Paul immediately jump into my mind as some who experienced a desert time before they were ready to do what God prepared them for. In fact, the desert time was part what made them effective servants of the Lord.

What do we do in the storms and desert places we face? Take a lesson from our spiritual ancestors and continue to live and walk with God, even when God doesn’t seem present. Eventually, like Jeremiah we can come to the conclusion that, “Because of the LORD's great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness…The LORD is good to those whose hope is in him, to the one who seeks him; it is good to wait quietly for the salvation of the LORD.” Lam. 3:22-26

Waiting isn’t easy. We want to ‘get on with our life.’ Maybe we want to ’do great things’ for God. However, you can’t force God’s hand. Waiting [on the Lord] is a discipline as much as prayer and fasting. The end result of faithful waiting is blessing. We are trained and refined and purified to better fulfill our calling. It is the storms and deserts that make us who we are meant to be. These times provide us with “Room to deny ourselves, a road to bring us daily nearer God.”

If you are in a waiting time or if you just want to deepen your faith walk this fall, I invite you to check out GoldenRule.com, my upcoming online study. You’ll find it right here during September. In the letter to James we are called to be 'doers of the word, not just hearers'.

GoldenRule.com calls us to be living ‘websites’ living God’s Golden Rule.Each week we’ll share ideas about how to live the Golden Rule in relationship with friends and family as well as acquaintances and strangers. I look forward to sharing with you.

Gretchen Grackle and the Hummingbirds

In a departure from the normal Sunday meditation--today's is a parable starring 3 contentious hummingbirds and a grackle. Let me know what you think. Do the birds remind you of any human traits?

Gretchen perched on the waving top of the poplar tree. She surveyed everything in the surrounding area. Loud chirps drew her attention to a commotion below her. Three small, fierce birds were buzzing around one another. They each had an opinion.
“You should never land to eat. Hover and flap your wings,” whirred one.
“If you settle on the perch, you can rest your wings and get a good drink,” insisted another.
The third flew past chirping triumphantly, “It’s all mine.”

“No!” Simultaneously both the others buzzed toward the feeder, chasing the interloper away.
He chirped angrily and flew in an irritated circle. A moment later he zipped to the top of an adjacent tree.
“What’s wrong?” Gretchen asked after a moment, “if you don’t mind me asking.”
Her companion sighed sadly and watched the fast moving little birds. The argument was growing more heated.
“My mother told me that there would be birds like you insisting that we change our way of doing things!” screamed one. “Hovering over a flower is a hummer tradition.”
In response, the black headed bird alighted on the feeder.
“Consider the ease with which you can eat…” he began calmly but changed to an angry chirp when the green backed bird zipped so close her wings brushed the black feathers. In a flurry of rage, he shot after the green bird.
“Excuse me,” Gretchen’s new friend dived toward the feeder while they were gone.
However, he seemed indecisive about how to eat. Hovering over first one and then another opening, he grabbed a few quick sips. For just a moment he let his feet perch on the rim before bolting away just before the return of the dueling pair. Panting a little from his frantic flight away from the battle front, the little bird settled across from Gretchen.
“What is your name?” the grackle asked politely.
“Horace,” replied the bird, taking a deep breath. “That’s Consuelo with the black head and Liberace.”
“Are you all friends?” Gretchen was a little confused.
“We used to be,” admitted Horace. He watched the pair once again circle the feeder, arguing loudly. When they zipped away after each other, he rushed down to grab a few sips.
“If you are friends, why are you fighting?” Gretchen asked when he returned. She was feeling a bit dizzy from all the fast movement.
Horace shrugged, “It’s a good question.”
He took another quick flight to the feeder. This time he sat on the rim to slurp up syrup. Only at the return of Consuelo and Liberace did he fly rapidly away.
“Sneak!”
“Traitor!”
The accusations followed him to his perch.

“We used to fly together and visit the gardens with fragrant flowers filled with nectar. When there were so many flowers we could each eat our fill. I guess we never noticed any differences or it didn’t seem to matter. We all flew from flower to flower.”
Horace stopped to listen to a tirade from Liberace.
“You are wasting all your energy hovering when you could just as easily perch and eat all you want. You know it’s an old hen’s tale that you have to flap constantly while eating or we die.”
“How dare you say that?” raged Consuelo. “My own grandmother told me that.”
“It’s been proven…” Liberace began but a wild rush by Consuelo made him stop in mid sentence. The pair raced away in mad circles around each other.
“There are fewer flowers now, so we all gather at the feeders,” Horace explained. “That’s when we started noticing the differences in sipping habits.”
“So it’s all about how you eat?” Gretchen almost chuckled and had to quickly make a circuit of the yard to hide the fact.
“It is silly,” Horace was not fooled. He shrugged and buzzed down to his friends.
Gretchen leaned forward to watch.
“Can’t we get along like we used to? It didn’t matter at the flower garden,” he pointed out.
“You want to put an end to the traditions founded on generation upon generation of black-headed hummers?” Consuelo flew straight at Horace and hovered there. “You are as bad as that green fool who insists on preaching lies.”
Horace backed away rapidly. Consuelo flew in an arc avoiding both other birds.
“Liberace, what difference does it make if Consuelo wants to hover and eat?” Horace tried a new tactic.
“Silly chicky, you are obviously too young to understand that one must move with the times. It is a proven fact that it is better for the digestion when you perch. I saw you do it yourself, just a little while ago. Wasn’t it better?”
“That’s my point,” argued Horace. “I’ve tried it both ways…”
“And you now know that the modern way is better,” Liberace interrupted triumphantly.
“I did not say that,” Horace flew after the celebratory bird. “I said I tried them both and I think they can both be useful, depending…”
Liberace turned wrathfully and dived toward Horace.
“Depending—on what—your indecisiveness?” he chirped angrily. “You have to make a decision about whose side you are on.”
Horace dodged between the birds and flew back to land on the tree below Gretchen.
Consuelo followed him to demand, “You have to decide. Are you for tradition or the modern folderol? You can’t have it both ways.”

Liberace circled the tree before racing down to perch on the feeder before Consuelo noticed.
“Ah, refreshing!” he taunted when she dived past him again.
“That is too bad,” Gretchen stated solemnly. “I’m sorry your friends are both angry with you.”
“It isn’t your fault,” Horace assured her before flying away alone.
“His friends won’t compromise and now he is gone,” Gretchen shook her head sadly at the conflict continuing below her.

(By Cynthia Davis, August 2009)

ABC's of Faith

Sometimes it's good to get back to the basics. The fun of summer is almost over, even though the calendar says it's only August. School is starting up soon and my grandchildren will be off to their various classes. A couple will be in preschool for their first experience of school. One daughter will be starting home schooling for her family. A couple of them will be returning to school as a familiar experience.

One of the first things we learn in school is our ABC's. It occurs to me that sometimes we need to stop and consider what the basics of our faith in Christ really are. I don't mean the dogma and creeds, necessarily, of any denomination. Rather, it's the statements that you personally relate to and consider the cornerstone of your relationship with God and with Christ.

What are some of those statements for you?

God is Love is the one that resonates most deeply with me. I still remember the first time I read that in a child's Bible story book. It was soon after I learned to read--so around 5 years old. There was a little poem, which I cannot recall. It was something about the sun and flowers and birds, etc. all whispering 'God is Love'.

"I know the plans I have for you, plans to prosper and not harm you," (Jer. 29:11) is another that I believe. Knowing that God is involved in every part of my life is a comfort and assurance when I feel confused about which way to go or what decision to make.

Another is Rom. 8:38. "I am sure that...nothing in all creation will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord." That's pretty awesome if you stop to really think about it. We are in the arms of a loving and mighty God, who will never let us down.

So what are the ABC's of my faith?

Answers are not necessarily important, because God's plans are better than mine.

Belief in God who is Love is the basis for all faith and

Christ is the cornerstone who keeps us safe in relationship with our loving Father God.

I would invite you to take a bit of time this week to ponder your own ABC's of your Faith. You might be surprised at what you identify as the ABC's of your faith.

Perseverance

And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience; And patience, experience; and experience, hope: And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us. (Rom 5:3-5 KJV)

Yesterday, my husband and I took a drive up to Sandia Crest and a stroll along the top of the crest. I noticed this tree trying to gain a root-hold in the rock. The stout little tree reminded me of one of my ongoing spiritual struggles--becoming patient.

Several years ago, I asked my spiritual director how I could work on being more patient. After chuckling, she reminded me that when we pray for patience we are often giving opportunities to practice patience. She then gave me this citation Romans as a study. Since that time, I've had many chances to practice 'patience' and I don't know if I'm much further down the road toward obtaining a patient heart.

The Greek word translated as 'patience' in the KJV is now more often translated as 'perseverance' or 'endurance'. The word is hupomonē, which means cheerful (or hopeful) endurance or constancy as well as patience. The NIV translation says:

Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us. (Rom. 5:3-5 NIV)

I think that translation sheds new light on what 'patience' is. Rather than being a resigned waiting for whatever will be, a la the old Doris Day hit "Que Sera Sera,"* patience is an action verb. It is indeed, as the NIV translation says, perseverance--a steady, constant action or belief over time. Patience/perseverance is the development of our distinct, individual qualities into the person God calls us to be. As we grow into our character, we grow closer to God. We also learn to hope and trust in God's never-failing love through the action of the Holy Spirit.

Instead of sitting around waiting to 'be patient,' we need to learn from the trees on top of Sandia Crest. They grown in and through and around the rock because they sink their roots into the soil beneath the stone. Like them, we can learn perseverance and develop our character in Christ by sinking our roots deep into the soil of faith despite the obstacles of boulders in our path.

I invite you to consider ways you can persevere in your walk with the Lord. Are there 'boulders' that you have let get in your way of growing into the person God envisions? Can you stretch your faith roots around them to get to the soil? Who knows what vistas may open up for you when you perservere in the Lord?

*For those who don't remember the song, the refrain is:

Que sera, sera

Whatever will be, will be

The future's not ours to see

Que sera, sera

What will be, will be