Jesus was asked what the greatest commandment was.  He said it was to love God with all your Heart and the second was like it to love your neighbor as yourself.  As a result of this exchange, these have come to be known as the two greatest commandments.  There is something else He said after that we often overlook.  He said all the commandments were based on these two.

In our world, it seems unlikely, if not impossible that all commandments are based on just two but that’s what our Lord said.  When we meditate on it, we come to realize it is true.  If we truly love God with all our heart and love our neighbor as our self why would we ever want to disobey any of the other commandments.

The problem is it is not easy to keep these commandments.  Our society tells us that certain people don’t deserve to be forgiven, don’t deserve to live; yet, if we follow the commandment of our Savior, we know that we must love them as we love ourselves.  When we commit a sin, no matter how bad it is, we want to be forgiven.  That’s the way we love ourselves.  That’s the way our Lord is commanding us to love others.

In our Lord’s Sermon on the Mount, He said “Do unto others as you would have others do unto you.”  Under the title The Golden Rule that has become such a famous saying most people don’t know it was Jesus Christ who said it.  It is an explanation of how we can love others as we love ourselves, but it is more than that.  It is an answer to the question “How can I get what I want?”

The Bible tells us we reap what we sow.  If we put our bread on the water, it will come back to us.  If we hate others, we will be hated, if we love others, we will be loved.  If we forgive others, we will be forgiven.  The Golden Rule is not an empty platitude. It is not  just a goody-goody saying to hang on the wall.  It is referring to a matter of fact.  No doubt the most famous prayer in Christianity is the one our Lord gave us in the Sermon on the Mount.  “Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name.  Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.  Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us.  Lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil.”  He followed that prayer by saying “For if you forgive others their sins, then your Heavenly Father will forgive you your sins.”