Selecting a life-style
JUSTICE, MERCY AND FAITH. In a long conversation with the crowds Jesus picked out these three values as being the important ones for a life-style that pleases God.
The question readers would like to ask is, are they values that would please me?
If a person decided to live his/her whole life in accordance with these values would he/she be pleased with the quality and meaning of their life?
Justice – Yes I’d guess that anyone who chose justice as a value would be pleased with themselves and their lives. Because they valued justice they would try to see that no person would be underprivileged, or denied opportunity. If they were trying to live justly they wouldn’t break good laws to gain unfair advantage. Yes I think a person seeking to live justly could be look in the mirror every morning and like the person he/she saw.
Mercy – Yes, but not so clear cut. Forgiving might mean a struggle because forgiven people often do not value their forgiveness, and often don’t stop offending. So a person reviewing their life and remembering how often they had been merciful to the ungrateful, and how often their mercy had been abused, might experience a little frustration and irritation. Still with sufficient reflection I think they could feel pleased with themselves.
Faith –It would depend who and what they had faith in. Faith is a great value to have. But where and how faith is used could make the difference between reviewing one’s life with satisfaction, or with regret. When Jesus talked about faith he meant faith placed in God, the one, the only God, and in Jesus as his incarnation. The evidence is that yes, a person who did this would review their lives with pleasure. People who have placed their faith in God, through Jesus, state often and loudly that they are glad they have done so. The people who did not do this; you don’t hear them proclaiming that they are glad they didn’t.
Most of us people who believe Jesus was telling the truth need a lot more faith. When we are threatened by loss of status, affection or power, we often forget to rely on God and try to protect ourselves to our own time-table and in our own way, when we do this we sometimes (often) behave in less than honorable ways.
So when we review our life under this heading we are pleased that we put our faith in the one God through Jesus his messenger. We believe that God’s involvement in our lives has lit our inner selves up with a great radiance. However we are often not pleased with ourselves because our faith was not always consistent and we did ourselves and others harm when we stopped trusting God and started protecting ourselves in dishonorable ways.
The recommended life-style. Even before Jesus brought the message of God to us, other preachers were recommending this life-style, and still others were demonstrating it in their lives. Micah who preached about 700 years before Jesus, summed it us in these words. God has shown mankind what God requires: that they do justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with God.
Matthew chapter 23, verse 23 and Micah chapter 6, verse 8
The question readers would like to ask is, are they values that would please me?
If a person decided to live his/her whole life in accordance with these values would he/she be pleased with the quality and meaning of their life?
Justice – Yes I’d guess that anyone who chose justice as a value would be pleased with themselves and their lives. Because they valued justice they would try to see that no person would be underprivileged, or denied opportunity. If they were trying to live justly they wouldn’t break good laws to gain unfair advantage. Yes I think a person seeking to live justly could be look in the mirror every morning and like the person he/she saw.
Mercy – Yes, but not so clear cut. Forgiving might mean a struggle because forgiven people often do not value their forgiveness, and often don’t stop offending. So a person reviewing their life and remembering how often they had been merciful to the ungrateful, and how often their mercy had been abused, might experience a little frustration and irritation. Still with sufficient reflection I think they could feel pleased with themselves.
Faith –It would depend who and what they had faith in. Faith is a great value to have. But where and how faith is used could make the difference between reviewing one’s life with satisfaction, or with regret. When Jesus talked about faith he meant faith placed in God, the one, the only God, and in Jesus as his incarnation. The evidence is that yes, a person who did this would review their lives with pleasure. People who have placed their faith in God, through Jesus, state often and loudly that they are glad they have done so. The people who did not do this; you don’t hear them proclaiming that they are glad they didn’t.
Most of us people who believe Jesus was telling the truth need a lot more faith. When we are threatened by loss of status, affection or power, we often forget to rely on God and try to protect ourselves to our own time-table and in our own way, when we do this we sometimes (often) behave in less than honorable ways.
So when we review our life under this heading we are pleased that we put our faith in the one God through Jesus his messenger. We believe that God’s involvement in our lives has lit our inner selves up with a great radiance. However we are often not pleased with ourselves because our faith was not always consistent and we did ourselves and others harm when we stopped trusting God and started protecting ourselves in dishonorable ways.
The recommended life-style. Even before Jesus brought the message of God to us, other preachers were recommending this life-style, and still others were demonstrating it in their lives. Micah who preached about 700 years before Jesus, summed it us in these words. God has shown mankind what God requires: that they do justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with God.
Matthew chapter 23, verse 23 and Micah chapter 6, verse 8
posted by Jessie Coates at 12:37 AM
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