The Royal Law - Friday Praise & Pray (for others) January 6, 2023
Updated: Jan 13, 2023
Sadly, it is easy to feel unsure of what the Lord wants from us. We hear so many different things from many different places. Go to church! Evangelize to unbelievers! Tithe! It can all be confusing for those who are just starting their walk with God. Even for those who have been believers for a while. Now, these instructions are all scriptural and the many directives in the Bible were never meant to confuse us. And so, Jesus came to simplify things for us.
How did Jesus simplify things? By telling us to treat others as we would like to be treated. Luke 6:31 - Do to others as you would have them do to you.
That is such a straightforward instruction and it is this simplicity that so many struggle with. We live in a world where it is normal to use complicated language to say easy things. We are so used to people speaking in subterfuge whereby their many words mean absolutely nothing. Faux-enlightened messages grab attention although, if you scratch their surface, they're empty shells. Meanwhile, Jesus already told us what to do and it is the Royal Law as stated in James 2:8 - If you really keep the royal law found in Scripture, “Love your neighbor as yourself,” you are doing right. And before He uttered those words here on earth, the Lord gave them to Moses who wrote them in Leviticus 19:18 - “’Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against anyone among your people, but love your neighbor as yourself. I am the LORD.
Fortunately, the word of God also helps us understand how to live in accordance with this decree.
Take a look at Isaiah 1:17 - Learn to do right; seek justice. Defend the oppressed. Take up the cause of the fatherless; plead the case of the widow. That's pretty straightforward too. Do what is right and therefore, godly. Be on the side of justice, not corruption. Stand up for the oppressed, the orphan and the widow.
Similarly, Micah 6:8 tells us, He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God. To be just in how we deal with people is deemed right by God. We are called to be lovers of mercy, and therefore advocate for mercy. He wants us to fully submit to Him and be free of pride.
Then there's also Zechariah 7:9-10 - “Thus has the LORD of hosts said, ‘Dispense true justice and practice kindness and compassion each to his brother; and do not oppress the widow or the orphan, the stranger or the poor; and do not devise evil in your hearts against one another. This scripture captures what the previous two mentioned but adds the instruction to be kind and compassionate. It also warns us to not be like satan, planning evil things for other people.
These verses provide some insight on a way to live by the Royal Law. There are other ways of course, but if we try to apply some of these instructions - being humble before the Lord (living in the fear of the Lord), making the needs of the poor or widows a priority, being kind to strangers or defending the oppressed around us - surely, we would be living right. Remember our recent discussion on the Cornelius Anointing? He was blessed partly because he gave to the poor. His story is an example of the perspective we must have when dealing with others - to care for others through our deeds and not just our words. Then, we too will be treating others as we'd wish to be treated.
Though it won't be easy, God will help each of us believers to make changes each day that reflect His word and enable us to love one another. These are a great starting place and I pray that in this new year, we will aspire to live as God wants us to. I trust the Lord to ascribe His righteousness to us as we move closer and closer to becoming the children He created us to be, IJMN, Amen.
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