The Basic
Teaching of Jesus Christ About Human Life
John
Kunnathu
Worldwide
Gregorian Study Circle, Houston, Texas
All rights
reserved.
Holy
Transfiguration - Madison, Wisconsin 2001
One often wonders what Jesus Christ taught about how
we should live our life between birth and death. In the present day Christian
circles, this question is not much addressed. On the other hand, we hear much about
the salvation one can gain by believing that Christ died for him/her. What
Jesus taught has been hidden under the Himalayan piles of dogmas and doctrines
about Jesus Christ. Christianity today has become believing some theories about
Jesus rather than believing what he taught.
It is not at all hard to find what Jesus taught if someone
reads the "Gospels" with an open mind. Matthew, one of Jesus'
disciples, has done a great service to the humankind by summarizing the basic teaching
of Jesus in his book--mainly in chapters five to seven.
In order to live, any human being needs the basic questions
of existence answered. We need answers to questions such as who we are, where
we are, why we live, and how we should live. Jesus answered the basic questions
of existence for his generation.
Like any other great master, Jesus used familiar similes,
metaphors, and parables to explain the unfamiliar to his audience. He compared
the human life to a journey, and went on to explain that one can take either of
the two possible paths for this journey. One path leads us to life--the very
source of life, God. The other path leads us away from life—from God, to total
annihilation.
In order to explain the relationship between God, humans
and the world, Jesus used the metaphor of family. Jesus compared the world to
the family of God--with God as father, and all humans as God's children. To the
multitude that gathered to hear his words, Jesus talked about "your
heavenly father".
Humans, being children, have absolute freedom to choose
their own path in their life. They can either choose the path toward life, or
choose the path toward annihilation.
Taking the path toward life is the will of God about humans. But God
doesn't want to force any human to this path. Humans have to choose this path willingly.
Jesus clearly set the goal of human life when he
said "Be perfect as your heavenly father is perfect". The goal of children is to grow up to their
father. Jesus sets the greatest challenge before the humankind—grow up to God,
become like God. God loves all humans as His dear children irrespective of
their love toward God. Jesus also challenges his audience to be like their
heavenly father by loving all fellow beings as their siblings, whether they
love them back or not.
Jesus doesn't think that there is any short cut to achieve
this. One needs to grow to such a state, and the growth is a journey that
continues all along the lifetime.
Jesus realizes that the majority of people choose
the highway to annihilation, whereas only a few choose the narrow path toward
life. Why? The reason is blindness. Their inner eye has gone blind, and so they
do not see the reality. The highway of ease and comfort appears appealing to
them, and do not see where it is leading them.
The people who move along the path of life have an intense
desire for truth. They are totally honest to themselves and to God. They do not
do anything to show others. Hypocrisy is alien to them. They have their eyes
fixed in the ultimate goal, and move along steadily to achieve that goal. While
moving toward the ultimate goal, they shun away from certain deviations that
can take them far away from their desired destination. Gaining wealth will never
become a goal for them. On the other hand, wealth becomes a tool for them to
help them move toward their goal. Anxiety has no place in their hearts. They
are never worried about what to eat, what to wear and where to live. They trust
their heavenly father for all these basic necessities, and move forward
steadily to achieve their goal.
Besides, anxiety shrouds the inner eye, which makes it incapable to see
the path.
Jesus answers the basic questions of existence as follows:
v
Who are we?
We are the children of God.
We are free to obey or disobey God. We have the potential to grow up to God if
we choose to follow the will of God.
v
Where are we?
We are members in the family
of God, and live in the world, which is the house of God.
v
Why do we live?
Being the children of God,
we are to grow up to God and become as perfect as God. As we grow, the meaning of
our life becomes clearer to us.
v
How should we live?
We should always have the
goal in our mind and move forward overcoming the temptations to deviate to
other goals. Always keep the inner eye clear in order to see the path
clearly. Do not let anxiety blind your
inner eye. Live in a way that is fitting to the children of God.
In short, the message of Jesus is relevant to all humans
of all time. He advocates a goal-oriented life for all humans, and the goal
should be nothing less than being one with God.
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Suggestions
or comments may be sent to John Kunnathu. E-mail: kunnathufamily@yahoo.com
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