I keep trying to distill the Christian religion to its most basic essence, to the simplest understanding, so I am prepared to share the reason for the hope that I have (1 Peter 3:15). Here’s where I stand:
God created all human beings to love Him and to love each other (Matthew 22:37-39). He gave us the freedom to live as we want, which is the only possible way to love. So that we would not choose to follow bad examples, He made His divine self human, being born as the person named Jesus. Jesus showed us how to love, how to live the way God designed us to live, and He calls all of us to follow his example (John 14:6).
Jesus not only taught, but also demonstrated the way for us all to live. This is what Jesus said, in today’s language: “Anyone who intends to come with me has to let me lead. You’re not in the driver’s seat—I am. Don’t run from suffering, embrace it. Follow me and I’ll show you how. Self-help is no help at all. Self-sacrifice is the way, my way, to finding yourself, your true self.” (Luke 9:23, The Message).
So, to decide to live this way, you only need to believe:
- God exists.
- God made me to love him and all he created.
- God sent Jesus to show me how to love.
- If I love as Jesus loves, I will find my true self, the person God created me to be.
By reading the first four books of the New Testament, written by four of his followers— Matthew, Mark, Luke and John— you can discover for yourself what Jesus said and did to show us the way to live. If you don’t want to read all that, just read Chapters 5, 6, and 7 from Matthew’s book—it’s only about 3 pages. He taught some pretty radical ways to live, much of it at odds with the way most people live.
At the end of chapter 7, Jesus says, “Everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock.” In essence, Jesus is saying, “Live your life as I have told you, and you will be secure, even through the hardest times of life.”
Live like you believe Him.
Doug
St. Mark Lay Leader