This final section of the Sermon on the Mount culminates in one grand invitation from Jesus: to follow him. Some commentators state that the key verse is Matthew 7:12, commonly referred to as 'The Golden Rule."

Throughout this scripture, Matthew 7:12-29, Jesus urges a final plea for us to receive his invitation and apprentice our lives under His care and teaching by following him. We will see that Jesus' way is not the usual normal way and will require sacrifice (7:14). We will become a certain kind of person from the inside, like a healthy tree (7:18). There will be warnings from Jesus about his invitation (7:15, 21-23) promising short-cuts, but Jesus says if we follow him, we will find life in him to be the surest foundation upon which to build reality (Matthew 7:24-27).

As we finish the Sermon on the Mount, we're invited into this story, just as we have the privilege of inviting others, not only to read it in church but to truly encounter it and allow Him to be our good father.