 But we should know it just leads to suffering. It twists the Way of Jesus to serve ourselves rather than to serve God and the universal reality of God’s Love.
It’s just another thing to repent of – any superiority or entitlement we may feel about our religion – just something to let go of, so we can open our hands again and receive God’s Grace.
Open our hands again to receive God’s Grace – this is the heart of the Way of Jesus.
We don’t earn it. We don’t do something to deserve it. It just doesn’t have to do with earning or deserving. It’s more about receiving or denying – being embraced and embracing back or pushing God away. Hell is of our own making – it’s the condition we make for ourselves and often for other people when we choose to be alienated from God. Eternal life is the condition of accepting reunion with God.
This is what the Apostle Paul was teaching about when he talks about the reconciliation with God that came through Christ. The cross is a dramatic display of God’s unconditional love.
As Christians we should know that you also find it this the revelations through the Hebrew prophets before Jesus.
God’s grace, God’s love and commitment as supreme, eternal, universal – this is quite alive in the living tradition of Judaism.
This month here we’ve been exploring the relationship between Christianity and Judaism.
We’ve been looking at some of the weeds of resentment and superiority and hatred against Judaism that have been sewn in with our Christianity along with the good grains of grace. There are just a lot of unfair misconceptions that Christians tend to have about Judaism.
Like I said last week, I think the only honest attitude Christians should have for Judaism is gratitude.
Jesus was Jewish, he was deeply faithful to the religion of his ancestors; and the early movement of the folks who followed Jesus as God’s Anointed One, was a Jewish movement, deeply faithful to the religion of their ancestors.
we should only have gratitude for the rich and living tradition of Judaism.
to the Gratitude of Jesus’ disciples in the Empty Tomb, beholding the Mystery of God and receiving a revelation of God’s power over human sin.
In the Jewish and Christian traditions, the Love and Power and Justice and Grace of our Creator has been known and shared among generations of people.
Generations of imperfect people, like ourselves.
Human religion can always twist the true spirit that came through its prophets.
An attitude of gratitude to God can harden into entitlement and resentment.
That kind of regeneration of the spirit of our faith is always needed.
This is heart of faith is the Heart of Gratitude. Our lives and everything that upholds them are gifts from our Creator, to Whom we all ultimately will return.
So, let’s take care to always begin and end with gratitude.
Thank you for your wisdom and generosity.
And as always, thanks be to God.
Next Next post: Gateways to Grace, Part 2: If not for Fear and Pride, Why Get Religion?- Vanish-Doom: How cheap is it?
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