The WAY of Jesus is not about keeping a lot of rules and regulations and living in fear that you might, if you offend God, get zapped. It is also not about doing whatever you want and then feel that you can just run to confession and get rid of all guilt and potential punishment. The WAY of Jesus involves authentic   living – living like the people that God created us to be. What God wants for us is that we be intelligent people, who freely embrace a WAY of living that can bring about personal transformation.

The WAY of Jesus is such as way of living. If we embrace His way of living, we learn how to unconditionally love and forgive others, which, as you might guess, is truly transformative. Why do I say that it is transformative? I say this because this   way of living is not typically supported by our society and humans tend to be more influenced by society’s mores than they even realize. Our modern society seems to promote and encourage self-centered, independent persons who seem to take quick offense and feel that perceived injustices must be countered with force and violence. Justice before compassion seems to be the rule.

We see this even in the image of God which predominates much of our Christian world. God truly has been made in the image and likeness of man instead of vice-versa. Of course God is going to punish all those who do not live up to our values and beliefs. He has to. It is only fair!

The WAY of Jesus turns this kind of thinking totally upside-down. He lived in a manner totally opposite of this way of living, which is, most assuredly, based on a way of thinking. When you think of people in terms of enemies and sinners, you cannot think in terms of love and forgiveness. When you also think in terms of   rigid absolutes, you cannot imagine how a person could live like Jesus lived. We know that if a person cannot even imagine living like Jesus lived, then they will never embrace the WAY of Jesus.

What must happen, if we are to spiritually grow, is that we believe with our whole mind that the WAY of Jesus is the true way of living – that the WAY of Jesus is the way that God intends us to live in order to possess the fullness of life and to come to have a real and true relationship with Him.

This, of course, scares many people. Of course none of us want to be taken advantage of or subject ourselves to injustices. We have fragile self-images! Despite all of this, the WAY of Jesus is the way to live!   Do you believe this?