The Christian Life

Of all the philosophies and religious teachings, nothing compares to the Christian doctrine as taught by Jesus and His Apostles. It is not a sophisticated and difficult doctrine to understand! Although the Apostle Paul wrote the most about it, he was well educated and his understanding of the faith was deep. It simple, has class and a distinction from all the other teachings.

In the first place, the Christian faith is a personal experience to an individual. It is a stark realization of an inescapable fact, that man is a minor being and limited, and that God is major and infinite. The uniqueness of the faith is that there is a relationship between God and man, and is an essential relationship for complete existence of the minor. Jesus said: “because without me you can do nothing” (Jn 15:5). I accept this as true, seeing as the very breath in our body is from Him. Even after the personal experience the Apostle Paul had with Jesus, after meeting and walking with Him, Paul learned and said that “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me” (Ph 4:13). I do not believe for a moment that Paul was just being polite and humble. His personal experience when he met Jesus was genuine, and on it he built the life of faith that followed. Just like he said he could do all things through Christ, he did. Paul’s faith was so immersed in him that his clothing was affected. Even if a piece of his clothing touched a sick person, that person recovered. Also, the immense faith of the Apostle Peter affected his shadow, and Peter was totally different than Paul. Because of his faith in Jesus, his shadow could touch a dying man and fully recover him. What is amazing is that these two men, and many other powerful believers, were no different than you or me. The best news of all is that God does not have favorites; to Him we are all equal! So in the case of these men, it was their faith in the Savior that made them useful. The Bible says that Elijah was a man just like us, yet he prayed and stopped the rain for three and a half years (Jms 5:17).

Here is probably the most striking difference of the Christian faith; we all have heard the saying “an eye for an eye,” but God’s word says “revenge is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.” Jesus taught us that, if someone strikes us on one cheek turn to him the other! He said love your enemies and pray for them. He said to be good to the unlikable, because the nice person has a lot of people liking him, and it is not a challenge for us to like that person. Sometimes I cannot help but wonder how closely we should follow His instructions. The fact is that we should do our best to follow His direction and walk in His steps. And if we are not up to the task, He helps us through. Where can we find anything close to this kind of life? This is the Christian life that I began talk about!

Yes, there is much more I can say about the Christian life and I will in future posts. For now, understand that the Christian experience is based on two ingredients: to love the Lord with all of your heart, and to love others as you love yourself. It could not be any simpler, try it! Put your faith in God and see what happens! Jesus left us with one symbol of identification for others to recognize us. He said “by this shall all men know that you are my disciples if you love one another.” Now go Bless the Lord with your loving life and with His goodness.