The higher nature

I was asked, in an conversation a little while ago, if I or any other Anglican follows every single precept and commandment in the Bible, and if not, then why was I focused on Jesus' teachings of love thy neighbor, and thy enemy, to forgive, to be a peacemaker and to be merciful.

I replied that of course no Christian, no matter what their denomination, can follow every precept and commandment...we all fail. We're simply human. And it through Christ we are upheld, led, and saved, not our own doing.

But that doesn't excuse us from not trying to follow Him, and to live as closely to His word as we can. And in our culture, we don't tend to like Christ's commandments of charity, forgiving those who hurt us, praying and blessing our enemies, being unworldly and unattached to great material goods, loving our neighbor as ourselves, seeking peace and being merciful.

We don't like them because they go not only against our own inward selfish natures but against what our culture values. Our culture values wealth, "taking care of number one"...we disdain the poor, especially the homeless, we love the sensational and tawdry, we're always at war with someone (either personally or as a country) and mercy and forgiveness are seen as signs of weakness.

Yet those things are marks of a Disciple of Christ. Mercy, humility, kindness, a love of peace, a forgiving nature, a generous nature and an un-attachment to sensationalism and greed, being hospitable and loving everyone we can, be they friend, acquaintance or even enemy.

It's not easy to love strangers, and certainly not enemies. But it is what Christ commanded...not suggested, not recommended, but commanded. And love here doesn't mean a warm, squishy feeling towards someone, but rather acting in someone's best interests. Doing what is best for them, with their interests at heart. Is this easy? Oh, heavens no. It is impossible to do without Christ's help.

Therein lies the secret- with Christ's help. He will help us forgive those who have wounded us. He will help us bless them and pray for them. He will help be more than we can be alone, because when we abide in Him, He also abides in us.

We pray and work for peace, knowing it won't come until God decrees it, because it glorifies God. We forgive our enemies, knowing it may not change them, but it will change us, because it glorifies God. We pray for those who hurt us, because it glorifies God. We give mercy, because...you guessed it, it glorifies God.

We do all those things against our very human nature, because Christ wants us to do so....and isn't that reason enough?

We have to either submit to Christ's Lordship in our lives, and live out those hard, and higher, ideals, or we give into our earthly fallen natures and live for ourselves. If we live for Christ, we shall live forever with Him, but if we live for ourselves, it will end in darkness and destruction.