Kids ALIVE

I’ve always been fascinated by the Ghost-of-Christmas-Yet-To-Come in the classic 'Christmas Carol' by Charles Dickens. Mainly in the fact he doesn't, or can't, speak.

The Past screams at us, reminding us of our mistakes and failures and begging us to learn the lessons. Rarely do we listen. The Present shouts the fear and ugliness of this world. We barely hear the whisper of what's right and good.

But the Future has no voice. It can only point us to what may or may not be. It can not tell us what shall be because we haven't made those decisions yet. Even Ebenezer Scrooge demanded of the spirit to know whether the images he saw were things that will be or things that might be. But the spirit could not say.

You may think you know what your future holds. But you think that only because of what you've said and done in the past. Change your present and you'll change your future. Even a hateful, worthless codger like Ebenezer Scrooge found that out.

We've all heard of the Golden Rule: "Therefore, whatsoever you would that others should do to you, do ye even so to them..." (Jesus in Matthew 7:21). Or the paraphrase: Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. But did you know Jesus kicked this up another level for those who follow him?

At the Last Supper, knowing his crucifixion was soon to come, Jesus washed his disciples feet (John chapt.13). Afterward, he said to them: "A new commandment I give to you, that you should love one another. As I have loved you, you should also love one another."

For those of us who have had the straight-forward conviction of sin and need for a Savior as our first experience with God's love; who have realized the only answer to our lost state is the mercy of God through the shed blood of the Son of God; who are grateful for the sacrifice at Calvary and God's acceptance of us despite our sins; who have experienced the new life that Jesus bought through his resurrection; our treatment of others is to go beyond simply doing to them what we'd want them to do to us. It's not about what we'd want. Instead, it's about what Jesus has already done.

Author Andy Stanley calls this the 'Platinum Rule', kicking the Golden Rule up a notch. Maybe treating others as they would want to be treated is good enough for those who haven't experienced God's grace. But for those of us who have, Jesus asks us to love others as he has (already)loved us.