Recently I was reading Luke 6 out of God’s Word Translation. It hit a chord with me….The end of verse 38 reads – “The standard you use for others will be applied to you.” This statement is in the midst of “Give and it shall be given unto you.” Unfortunately, most of the time when that scripture is preached it is usually talking about giving finances, but if we look at it in context, it is saying so much more.


This passage of scripture is referred to as the Sermon on the Mount. In the verses before and after verse 38, Jesus instructs the people about how to treat others. Giving is a part of what we do toward people, but the standard that we use to treat others is the one that will be used on us.


We must ask ourselves what standard do we use in evaluating people and situations.


Do we use the guidelines Jesus lived by? Of course, many of us would say “Yes!”, but if we examined ourselves would that truly be the case?


We might respond by saying the Word of God is our standard. If it is, do we truly treat people the way we want to be treated or better yet, do we treat others the way Jesus did? Jesus always had the attitude of a servant. It is incredible that He did not think He was better than anyone else, when from our perspective, HE WAS!


He humbled Himself as a servant, better yet let’s use the term slave, because Philippians 2 is very clear about that. Though Jesus was God He did not cling to His rights as God. He did not take advantage of this equality.


He emptied Himself and took on the form of a servant, a slave. He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death.


He did not judge those around Him. He was always obedient to His Father and He gave Himself completely for us. This is our standard. Now I know none of us can live up to His standard, but as we identify with what Jesus did for us through His death, burial and resurrection, we can and do meet the standard. Identifying with Him enables us to be like Him. The more we recognize and acknowledge His work on the cross in our lives the more people will see Him in us and less of our flesh.


Let’s go back to this passage starting at Luke 6:27 – Do we love our enemies? Are we kind to those who are unkind to us? Do we go the extra mile? Do we give to others not expecting anything in return? Do we treat others the way we want to be treated? Do we judge or condemn? Do we forgive? Are we givers? Do we react to people and in situations the way Jesus did? When we do not, we have lost the focus of what Christ Jesus did for us.


We should look at this passage as something we can do, not as a bunch of do's and dont's or something that is impossible. We have the ability because it is no longer we who live, but Christ living in us. The life we live in the flesh we live through Jesus who loved us and gave Himself for us. God made a way for us and it is up to us to press toward the mark by meditating on His Word and acting on it.


This is the standard we are to live by and we will definitely reap what we sow. We must ask ourselves – Do we want to reap what we sow because the standard we use for others will be applied to us?