Treat others as you would like to be treated.

Often called the Golden Rule, it’s a quote from our Lord Jesus (Matt 7:12). Simple in concept, profound in purpose, balanced in justice, it is a universal maxim that members of every faith, be they those that believe in no god, one God, or many gods, can embrace. It is the accepted standard for human behavior and it forms the base of our divine triangle of love.

We are to love others and love ourselves. So, let’s take a moment to review where we’ve been in our journey and discuss our six previous P’s that reflect and describe these two loves.

We started with “In the beginning, God…” and that the whole universe owes its existence to God and all things were created for His pleasure and glory. We spoke of His Son, Jesus Christ, Who commands us to follow Him. In following Him, we are to deny ourselves (put God first), pick up our cross (a cross of love–loving God in the vertical and our neighbors in the horizontal) and follow Jesus. We also noted that the greatest commandment contained three loves: love God, love others, and love thyself.

We started with love thyself and we stated that the best way to love yourself is to be your best. We want the best for ourselves so to have the best is to be the best we can be. In our life journey we realize that we are where we are in life based on the decisions we’ve made. So, we must PREPARE ourselves so we can be wise in our decision-making to make the right decision in every circumstance that we face. Next, we need to understand our PURPOSE or why we are here. As we travel, we must have a PRIORITY system to direct our journey.

When we analyze these three disciplines, we discover that adhering to these principles will enable us to be the best we can be. We know the objective which is to glorify God, we have the tools (the armor of God) to guide us through each and every decision (step) we take and make, and we have the proper priority and mindset to seek His Kingdom first or see the world as God sees the world. We’re dressed for success, we have our objective in sight, and the means and mindset to get there. We are ready! We are positioned to be the best we can be and therefore, have fully loved ourselves.

Next, we discussed how we love others. We think win-win and we do everything in love. Love is the motivational force for all that we do. It is the measuring stick for how we value our actions. If we do things not motivated by love, then it profits us not. The PROCESS in which we travel is to love our way through every situation. Do all things in love.

We then build relationships with others. We seek first to understand them, then share our thoughts and experiences. We speak the truth in love. We PROCLAIM the Good News of God’s amazing grace. We recognize that we each have different or unique paths, but we’re all part of God’s family. We have the PERSPECTIVE that we work together in unity–that we’re all part of the body of Christ and we function best as a synergistic whole. We anchor that concept by our trust in God.

The first three P’s address how we love ourselves best. The next three P’s described how we love others best. This forms the base of the divine love triangle and is the second half of the greatest commandment…to love your neighbor as you love yourself.

Now, we are ready to connect these two loves with loving God with all our heart, mind, soul, and strength.

On the night He was betrayed, Jesus gave His final instructions to His disciples. John records much of that discussion. Jesus stated that He is the True Vine and we are the branches–that if we abide in Him, we will bear much fruit, but apart from Him we can do nothing. Just as a branch grows, it begins to look more like the vine; we are to abide and grow in Christ and look and behave like Him.

Jesus also gave us a new command. He stated it twice so when the Lord repeats something, we should pay special attention to it. (See John 13:34 & 15:12). We are to love others as He loves us. If the Golden Rule is to love others as we love ourselves, then this is the Platinum Rule. Love others as Christ loves you.

This is how we, the branch, become more like the True Vine. This is how we grow to do things beyond our own capabilities and wildest dreams. This is where we fully align ourselves with God’s will and break out the popcorn to see what God will do through you. This is where the journey gets amazing!

The next three P’s describe these disciplines. They are POTENTIAL which describes how we grow in Christ. PASSION which is to discover God’s specific will for you and help others find God’s specific will for them. And we finish where we started—the alpha and omega, the first and the last, our PARTNER which is walking with the LORD.

That’s a peek at coming attractions, so tune in next time at the same Bat channel. Until then, be blessed and be a blessing to others!