The narrow path

reply to post by 3NL1GHT3N3D1


Not quite equal, simply because he was without sin. He had no anxiety or fear ever. We don't know what it's like to live an entire life free of guilt, fear and anxiety. We can become like him but we cannot quite achieve his status. He was created for that purpose; this is why he considers us his brothers, because we were all created for the father's purpose, so it shouldn't even matter that we can become him. It is good enough to become like him.

Originally posted by 3NL1GHT3N3D1

Matthew 7
14 But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.

And on a side note, from the mouth of Jesus:

Matthew 15
14 Leave them; they are blind guides. If the blind lead the blind, both will fall into a pit."

And from the mouth of Paul:

2 Corinthians 5
7 For we live by faith, not by sight.

These two verses are incompatible. Those who do not walk by sight are blind. Think about that.

Paul is saying we believe in the God we do not see. Jesus was stating that those who could not see God were leading others.

God is love but not all accept this message.

Originally posted by sacgamer25
reply to post by 3NL1GHT3N3D1

 

Not quite equal, simply because he was without sin. He had no anxiety or fear ever. We don't know what it's like to live an entire life free of guilt, fear and anxiety. We can become like him but we cannot quite achieve his status. He was created for that purpose; this is why he considers us his brothers, because we were all created for the father's purpose, so it shouldn't even matter that we can become him. It is good enough to become like him.

Jesus never had anxiety? What about when he was flipping tables in the temple or calling the Pharisees a brood of vipers? That sounds like anxiety to me. Anxiety leads to anger, and Jesus was angry on more than one occasion.

You contradicted yourself here. You said that his status is why he was created for the father's purpose; then you say we were all created for the father's purpose, yet you believe we cannot reach his status. If we were created for the father's purpose (Jesus status), then we can equal Jesus.

You are still doubting yourself.

reply to post by sacgamer25


So those who cannot see god are blind? Didn't you just say that you believe in a god that you cannot see? You basically just called yourself blind. Another contradiction.

God is right in front of you, your light is his light.

As Jesus said at his Sermon on the Mount:

Matthew 5
14 “You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden.

Notice how he doesn't say "I" but "you", as in those other than himself. That goes hand in hand with this verse:

John 8
12 When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”

He was telling us that we are no different from him. He was showing us the light we have always had, but ignore.

Originally posted by 3NL1GHT3N3D1
reply to post by sacgamer25

 

So those who cannot see god are blind? Didn't you just say that you believe in a god that you cannot see? Another contradiction.

God is right in front of you, your light is his light.

Here is what I believe, The father is love. Jesus is the Holy Spirit, the spirit of love in the world. Man/Life does not exist apart from the father. The father is in all things that are living. Love is in all life.

Jesus is the Holy Spirit, the spirit of love. So although love is in all men, not all are being guided by the spirit of love. It is only the one that recognizes the light within that becomes a light themselves. You must submit yourself to love to be love. Since Christ is the Spirit of love, he would merely be submitting himself to his desire, which could only be to love. He had the same free will as us but he was born with all the knowledge of the father, except the time and place for God to reveal himself in man.

We were born with the knowledge passed down to us from our earthly fathers and thus we have become subject to a set of rules that is against our spirit. We have been taught to believe in religious separation, war, greed, and pursuit of self happiness at the expense of anyone in the way. Corporate culture. Jesus was born with the knowledge passed down from God who is love.

In this way we will always be different from Christ because we were created to be different; personally I don't see equality with Christ as the goal. I prefer to see love as the goal, perfect love is unconditional. If becoming Christ is a condition than I may never achieve my Goal. So I believe if my light does shine bright enough for others to see, it is the Spirit of Love in me that has shown itself to you.

reply to post by 3NL1GHT3N3D1


It is possible for one to be angry apart from anxiety. Anxiety is fear; Christ was not acting in fear but in love. His actions, even those in anger, are righteous. His anger was targeted to arouse them to love the father as he did. He intended no ill will to those who were stealing at the temple, he only wanted them to "wake up" to how far away from love God and love your neighbor they had fallen.

They were blind to what they had allowed to happen.

reply to post by sacgamer25


Another contradiction. You say that Jesus is love and that love is the goal, but being equal to Jesus is not the goal. How can love be the goal and not the goal at the same time? Stop doubting yourself. That's the conditioning setting in.

I'm not being obtuse, I'm just pointing out the flaws in your argument. I don't mean any offense toward you.

reply to post by Angle

A difficult question here: do you consider yourself one who passed the small gate?

I've experienced a few crises in my life, the resolution of which seemed to include outside intervention. I have passed through crisis barriers. Some people may call this passing through being "born again", or entering the "new life", or conversion. I sometimes have thought of it in those terms, especially when finding myself unexpectedly alive. There is a very profound emotional release, joy.

But life goes on. The crisis passed cleared a small section of path, or made apparent some turning point. There will be more crises. The life I'm living is still the same life. The path I walk is still the same path.

If the small gate leads to some other type of life, some new mode of existence, then no. I can't truthfully claim to have even seen the small gate, much less passed through it.

reply to post by sacgamer25


And I believe that you are blind to what you have let happen. That is doubting yourself.

Anxiety and anger go hand in hand my friend. Jesus was angry because he was anxious about what the priests were doing.

Anxiety is not fear, that is a well-accepted fact.

reply to post by 3NL1GHT3N3D1


Hmm, how to explain this so you can see thier is no contradiction just a different way of looking at it.

You see the light in you as you. The love that is in you is you. So you desire to pursue love as an emotional response that defines you.
I see Jesus Christ as the light in me. The love that is in me is Christ. So I desire to pursue Christ as an emotional response that defines me.

You follow his words because they lead you to better love others.
I follow his words because they are the words that saved my life.

For you, you must become equal to the teacher because you see love as an expression of you.
For me, I have no desire to become equal to love, I only desire to demonstrate my worship of love to you.

For you love is an experience that you created.
For me love is a gift that has been given to me by the father.

Since I believe love is a gift of the father, I pursue the Joy of his attention. I have become one with love in that I have no desire to do what is against love. Not because I was such a good person but simply because Joy is the strongest addiction I have ever felt. I am addicted to pleasing God. And the only thing pleasing to him is to love others.

I have become addicted to love. If God is not love then I am wrong. But please even if God himself tells you I'm wrong leave me to my Joy.

Maybe that is better for you to understand.

Originally posted by pthena
reply to post by Angle

 

A difficult question here: do you consider yourself one who passed the small gate?

I've experienced a few crises in my life, the resolution of which seemed to include outside intervention. I have passed through crisis barriers. Some people may call this passing through being "born again", or entering the "new life", or conversion. I sometimes have thought of it in those terms, especially when finding myself unexpectedly alive. There is a very profound emotional release, joy.

But life goes on. The crisis passed cleared a small section of path, or made apparent some turning point. There will be more crises. The life I'm living is still the same life. The path I walk is still the same path.

If the small gate leads to some other type of life, some new mode of existence, then no. I can't truthfully claim to have even seen the small gate, much less passed through it.

edit on 15-5-2013 by pthena because: (no reason given)

The small gate is Joy. When you do what love/the father demands the reward is Joy. Love others and you will be filled with Joy, the more you love the more Joy you receive. If you listen real carefully you can always hear love guiding you to do what you know is right. Do what love says and find Joy. This is the command and the promise from Jesus.

reply to post by sacgamer25


I'm not saying you are wrong, you are absolutely right when you speak of love, but what you are missing is that your spirit is Jesus' spirit, they are one in the same.

Jesus was not the first to teach about love, Buddha came 500 years before Jesus and he taught about love. It's entirely plausible that Jesus learned a thing or two from Buddha's teachings. There are close to 30 years of Jesus' life missing.

I am not trying to take your joy away from you. I am overjoyed that you are overjoyed. Please don't take this as me doing that, because it's not.

I believe that love is a gift as well, but that doesn't mean it wasn't a gift from myself. You made the choice to love, no one else. You are lowering yourself by saying you can never be like Jesus, yet you do not realize that you have already equaled him by giving yourself over to love. You must realize that you are in no way inferior to ANYONE, including Jesus.

As Jesus said, YOU are the light of the world and your light is the same as his light. We are all One, Jesus included.

reply to post by 3NL1GHT3N3D1


Anxiety is caused by a natural or unatural fear of something. if one was agraid of nothing one would have no use for anxiety. If one truly took everystep knowing that God was in complete control why would they have any anxiety? Why would anyone who is knowingly doing the will of God have anxiety. It is understanding that anxiety is born in fear that helps us to eliminate anxiety. Find the fear, understand it, move past it, and let go of it, and release the anxiety.

reply to post by sacgamer25


This quote from Buddha:

Love the whole world as a mother loves her only child.

Sounds a lot like this quote from Jesus:

Love your neighbor as yourself.

Wouldn't you say?

The spirit that was in Buddha is the same spirit that was in Jesus. Buddha came before Jesus, so teachings on love did not originate with Jesus. You and him are the same just as you and I are the same.

reply to post by sacgamer25


Fear and anxiety are not the same thing. Fear is an emotional response to a "known" threat, anxiety is an emotional response to an "unknown" threat. They are similar but they are not the same.

There have been as many interpretions of this "narrow path" in this thread as there are posters.

This, to me, highlights the challenge faced by a religion which has no living master in the flesh, here and now, to explain what all these phrases and parables really mean.

What one Christian purportedly hears from spirit is contradicted by another's internal message.

How do you know what Jesus really meant? I mean, know as in factual, real knowledge, not simply personal conviction?

reply to post by 3NL1GHT3N3D1


You made the choice to love; I would not disagree with you.

I was called by love and taught to love by the Holy Spirit. This was not really a choice I made. Let's just say I had a similar experience to Paul when the Spirit came and spoke to him.

And no one could take away my joy, as I also hope I never say anything that makes anyone else stumble.

I believe that love comes to/from a man in various ways. The important thing is we make an honest effort to pursue loving one another. I believe that love will come to/from anyone who makes this choice, regardless of how they describe the experience.

reply to post by 3NL1GHT3N3D1


I am afraid of losing my Job, it causes me anxiety.

Name one fear that does not lead at least some if not most or even all to have some anxiety.

Name one thing that causes anxiety that could not be classified fear.

Originally posted by 3NL1GHT3N3D1
reply to post by sacgamer25

 

This quote from Buddha:

Love the whole world as a mother loves her only child.

Sounds a lot like this quote from Jesus:

Love your neighbor as yourself.

Wouldn't you say?

The spirit that was in Buddha is the same spirit that was in Jesus. Buddha came before Jesus, so teachings on love did not originate with Jesus. You and him are the same just as you and I are the same.

John 8:12 When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life."

Jesus claimed to be the spirit in Buddha. Not of the same spirit, but rather Jesus was the spirit of Love alive in Buddha.

John 14:26 But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you.

The Holy Spirit is sent in the name of Jesus Christ. Meaning the Holy Spirit and Jesus Christ are one. He was claiming to be the spirit of love, embodied in the man Christ.

John 1:29-34

29 The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! 30 This is the one I meant when I said, ‘A man who comes after me has surpassed me because he was before me.’ 31 I myself did not know him, but the reason I came baptizing with water was that he might be revealed to Israel.”

32 Then John gave this testimony: “I saw the Spirit come down from heaven as a dove and remain on him. 33 And I myself did not know him, but the one who sent me to baptize with water told me, ‘The man on whom you see the Spirit come down and remain is the one who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.’ 34 I have seen and I testify that this is God’s Chosen One.”

Love is what came before John, It was love that was greater than him, it was love that would baptize with the spirit of love. John agreed, equality with Christ was not the goal. Christ was our teacher, created for the purpose of love.

reply to post by sacgamer25


As I said, fear is based on a known threat, anxiety is based on an unknown threat. Anxiety may turn into fear but anxiety is no longer anxiety once it turns into fear.

You can have anxiety that never turns into fear and you can have fear that doesn't stem from anxiety. They are two different things, although they are similar. This is semantics though and unimportant.

What is important is that Jesus put himself on our level by saying his father is our father (Matt 5:48), his light is our light (Matt 5:14), that we are gods (John 10:34), and that doing good to others is doing good to him (Matt 25:40), thus putting those "others" on the same level as him.