Advice to a Young Family Member

Let us pause for a minute as I tell you now about a conversation I had with a young person in our family. We talked about how we must come to God, not through accepting church creeds, but fervently, optimistically, and confidently, praying for a personal relationship with God. Real faith!  I talked about that way back in the introduction of my autobiography. Jesus absolutely promises that God will respond with his blessings of good for us!

Now, after promising that God would respond and begin His good for us, Jesus’s very next word is “therefore” (Matthew 7:12). What does the word “therefore” mean? As you know, it means “consequently” or “because of that” or “in return for that” (Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary, 10th ed.). So what is Jesus Christ telling that young family member and all of us? “In return for God’s answer to our plea for a relationship with Him, yes, because of His loving goodness to us, we, therefore, consequently, must do good to others! The kind of good we would want done to ourselves!” Read it for yourself at Matthew 7:7–12 and feel the impact of our Lord’s words to us. Repeat the word “therefore” when you read it aloud.

What am I saying? That in return for God’s goodness to you, you must love and do good for others! Yes, you are to live the Golden Rule, as a consequence of having been blessed by God’s love and goodness to you! Truly, a life-changing idea!  Truly, a life changer!

The Golden Rule. The Great Commandment. The Supreme Way to live! And the way to “inherit eternal life!” I am glad to say my young family member saw her life ahead in a new way!