Christophe Dias
~insightsGold Star
ga0ewrrfi7jw.md

What it means to walk with God.

The teachings of Jesus indirectly tell us that it is not possible to please God by ourselves. Jesus told the rich man to sell all of his belongings. He also made us realize that looking at someone with lust is a sin, and He requires us to be perfect like God. But does this mean that God expects us to accomplish these things? Not really. Nevertheless, God requires us to strive for these goals.

The rich Christians in the time of Paul were not obliged to sell all their possessions but rather give according to what their own hearts allow them to. Every Christian has their own level of spiritual maturity as not every Christian will have the same reward in heaven. Similarly, Paul discouraged the pressure of having Christians obey dietary laws because even though it may be healthier, it does not affect ones salvation and most of all it may cause the gentile believers to stumble due to the burden of having to comply.

Similarly, the main reason Jesus gave those difficult teachings was not to burden us and make us lose hope in obtaining salvation. Rather, Jesus wanted us to realize how helpless we are and that we need a Savior to save us. As Jesus said, "Come to me, all of you who are heavily burdened, and I will give you rest."

Following Jesus requires a humble attitude, knowing that we are not worthy but fortunately loved by God. As Micah 6:8 (ESV) states:

"He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?"

We can only grow spiritually by walking humbly with our God because the most difficult instructions of Jesus require selflessness. For example, turning the other cheek, being a servant to all, and being willing to sell one's entire possessions to follow Him.

Therefore, let not our joy of salvation turn into pride or anger toward others but let us remain humble, knowing that God saved us not because we were good but because He is good enough to forgive us our sins. Let us keep the flame alive by being grateful and by staying attached to our Savior, the Tree of Life by walking humbly with Him.

God said, "Vengeance is mine." He also said that He reveals Himself to whom He wills. Matt. 11:27. Therefore it is not our duty to force people to believe, nor our duty to be angry at those who do not agree with us. Anger and pride are two sides of the same coin.

Instead, let us become ambassadors of Christ through righteous living and share the good news out of love and compassion. We become the light of the world mainly through our deeds, secondarily through God's word in us, and never through our philosophical ideas. Because the evidence of true believers, as stated by Jesus, is that all people will know that we are His disciples, if we have love for one another. John 13:35. It is our actions that mainly provide God's witness in us.

While here on earth, we will continue to grow and may sometime stumble along the way. However, stumbling should not burden us; instead, it should humble us and remind us to repent and return to God, whose love is far greater than that of the father with a prodigal son.

Our stumblings should make us realize that our salvation is not because of our inner qualities (many unbelievers can be considered good people by human standards), but because of God's blood that is continuously molding us to be like Jesus, who was meek despite all the false accusations and insults He received.

To God will always be the glory - not to our physical (heritage) attributes, and not to our emotional qualities (most people can love and have the ability to feel pity). No one is perfect enough for God to be saved if it were not for the sacrifice that Jesus made for us.