The Golden Rule's Silver Lining

I was thinking about giving and receiving. I read that when you want to connect with someone, you look into their left eye. That's the receiving eye. So as you're talking, you look in their left eye. It made me think about relationships in general, and my relationship with God specifically.

I suck at relationships. No, that's not quite right. It's more like stumbling around in the dark. Somewhere there is a light switch. I just haven't found it yet. The pastor is working his way through the book of Matthew. A couple of weeks ago, he went over the beatitudes. The one that came to mind tonight was "blessed are the merciful because they will receive mercy". The pastor said that is how virtues work - give and receive. 

He was clear that it isn't give to get. We give them freely - love, thanksgiving, happiness, mercy, generosity, integrity - knowing that we receive them back. Maybe not from the same person. That would be give to get. But in the end, when we need them most, God provides. We show mercy knowing that when we need it, mercy will be given to us. We receive.

And that led to the golden rule - do unto others as you would have them do unto you. It's not a command. I believed my whole life this was a command, something to obey, to do. It's not. The golden rule is the same principle, different words. Give unconditional love, forgiveness, mercy, generosity, integrity, joy and you will receive them. Because deep down, those are the things that we want from the people around us. 

Give and receive. Relationships are all about give and receive. One sided relationship simply do not work. Someone always feels unfulfilled. Why? Because that's why God created us. He wanted relationship. The give and take fuel a positive feedback loop. That's a death spiral in reverse. Instead of crashing and burning, it grows and soars. Think about all of the things God gives us: life, food, purpose, salvation, etc. 

But relationships also receive. What does God receive from us? Thanksgiving, gratitude, love, creativity, pleasure. And when He receives those, He wants to give us more. And that drives even greater gratitude, love, etc. It's a cycle that constantly builds on itself. Now imagine that happening every minute of every day for a billion years. Every hour, every day is more than the one before. It's compound interest gone wild!

God told us what He receives all through the Bible. Those aren't commands to be thankful. They aren't commands to obey. Those are statements of fact. When we love Him, when we live in relationship with Him, He will receive those things just because that's the very nature of the relationship. These aren't laws for judgement. They are signposts so that we can see progress!

Sin broke the relationship. Instead of receiving, we take. Instead of giving, we withhold. And it is an unfortunate fact of life that our sin nature is still in us. No matter how hard we try, in this life, we will always break the connection at different points. But God didn't accept that as final. He made a way of restoring what was lost. Redeeming what was broken. And He promises that one day, when it's all said and done, He will finish the transformation. We will be like His Son - always connected. And right now, those things He told us about - thanksgiving, obedience - they mark our ongoing transformation. It is His assurance to us that we are not lost. God wasn't passing judgement, He was giving us hope. Because that is His nature.