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Living by the Golden Rule, October 10
Judge not, and ye shall not be judged: condemn not, and ye shall
not be condemned: forgive, and ye shall be forgiven.
Luke 6:37
.
The duty of every Christian is plainly outlined in the words: “Judge
not, and ye shall not be judged: condemn not, and ye shall not be con-
demned: forgive, and ye shall be forgiven: give, and it shall be given unto
you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over.”
“As ye would that men should do to you, do ye also to them likewise”
(
verses 37, 38, 31
). These are the principles that we shall do well to
cherish....
Let not those who themselves have sinned against God refuse to for-
give a repentant sinner. Just as they deal with a fellow being who in spirit
or in action has done wrong and has afterward repented, so God will deal
with them for their defects of character. He who does not show mercy
to his fellow men cannot expect to be shielded by the mercy of God. He
himself is dependent on the mercy that God has enjoined him to exercise
in seeking to restore every unsaved soul brought within the sphere of his
influence. If he refuses to cultivate this divine grace, he himself will suffer
the result of his neglect....
We should remember that all make mistakes; even men and women
who have had years of experience sometimes err. But God does not cast
them off because of their errors; to every erring son and daughter of
Adam He gives the privilege of another trial. The true follower of Jesus
manifests a Christlike spirit toward his erring brother. Instead of speaking
in condemnation, he remembers the words, “He which converteth the
sinner from the error of his way shall save a soul from death, and shall
hide a multitude of sins” (
James 5:20
).
In the church militant men will be ever in need of restoration from the
results of sin. The one who in some respects is superior to another is in
other respects inferior to him. Every human being is subject to temptation
and in need of brotherly interest and sympathy. The exercise of mercy in
our daily relations with one another is one of the most effective means of
attaining perfection of character, for only those who walk with Christ can
be truly merciful.
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