because I want to live how Jesus did. His way was not always easy, he loved the outcasts. He brought what was dead back to life, he met immediate and long-term needs of his friends and followers. He kept nothing for himself-- he gave his love, his time, and his possessions away to those who needed it. He was kind and compassionate and sometimes furious. Furious at evil, hatred, greed or selfishness. He did not judge. He spoke truth.
If I follow him, that means I am going to have to give up myself, and lay down my life for my brothers and sisters.
It means I no longer come first.
comment your ideas about:
-what you think about Christians
-what you think about war
-what you think about giving everything you have away
-what you think about Jesus
-what you think about your day today
5 comments:
What do I think about Christians?
well, it depends on what Christians you are talking about, I suppose.
What do I think about war?
I believe war is a product of sin that can be used by God for good. It is not the ideal way to deal with a social issue, but we are human and sin-prone and greedy, and it happens for various reasons. However, God can use war to benefit those who are oppressed, as well as show those involved the truth of the world. Unfortunately, there are many things that go wrong in war, so there is a lot of negativitiy in it.
What do I think about giving everything away?
I believe it is our job as Christians to do everything we can to serve others. Sometimes this means material sacrifice, but it can also pertain to giving up time or whatever else is needed by the person you are helping. I am not as extreme as saying God calls us to give away all our possessions, because He doesn't. We should be willing to give up anything, but that doesn't mean give up everything.
What do I think about Jesus?
He's awesome! He is fully God, and fully man, and completely perfect. We should strive to be like Him, but realize we are imperfect beings, and we will never be like Jesus, because He is God, and we are not. He is the Way the Truth and the Life. No one gets to the Father except through Him.
What did I think abbout my day?
It was decent. I did homework all day, which included some interesting philosophical reading, so I was thinking alot. Otherwise pretty average Wednesday.
So is killing someone in war justified? Someone once told me that it is justified because Jesus' sacrifice restored our man to God relationship, but not our man to man relationship. I disagree with that.
I do agree with what you said about war being a by-product of sin, and how God can use it for good. Some things need to be fought for.
As for giving everything away...a lot of people believe God does say that, in parables and stories. But I believe that God doesn't always work in the same way. The most important mandate is to love, so maybe it means giving your stuff away, or maybe it means to give your time away.
I am not saying that we can BE Jesus, but what about the verse: I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. (galations 2:20)?
Who were you reading? I really want to take philosophy now. "well, why is that important?"
Christ lives in us I agree. However, some people take that and expect perfection from themselves, which is an impossible goal. Then when they mess up, they get down about their imperfection...we all mess up, it's what you do with it. You can either get depressed and dwell on your mistakes, or ask and know you are forgiven, and strive to not make the mistake again.
I read some stuff on existentialism. Christian view by Charles Colson, and existential perspective by Sartre. That and Blue Like Jazz. Btw, sorry if this appears twice
My understanding is that God is perfection, and if He lives in us, then he only cares that there is His perfection living in us. He knows that we sin, he knows everything we do, and it saddens Him when we sin, but it no longer matters to Him. Not to say that if I believe in God then I should be able do whatever I want and get into heaven. David sinned against God quite a bit, but he always came back to God, and he prayed for God's presence in his life, and God said that David was a man after his own heart. God was very pleased with David because no matter how much he sinned, he always came back to what he knew he couldn't live without.
By the way, this is a really disappointing version of Agaetis Byrjun...
Yeah I agree with you Colin, but I find it hard to put it into practice.. the living a life realizing I am forgiven by Christ.
And Nate, yeah you support the verse "What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it?" (romans)
I am in a girls group where we talk about things like this, and a book we're reading. Yesterday we talked about how there is no condemnation in Christ. It's apparently a hard one for me to swallow.
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