True Life and Goodness

True Life and Goodness:

Why Embrace Jesus?

I know some of us hear about Jesus all the time. We hear about him on television, on the street, from neighbors and passersby. And there are those of us who have never heard of him at all. You may be asking yourself, why do I need to hear about Jesus? Or why do I need Jesus? I will offer an answer here. You may not accept it, but I hope you will at least read it.

The two main reasons anyone needs Jesus is to be good and to have eternal life. It's simple. We cannot be good on our own. If we could be good on our own, the world would not be as it is now. The plain truth is only righteousness or pure goodness can last. Think about it. Anything that was established from ill-intent or ill-doing caused pain, destruction and loss, but anything that is good, does not result in destruction, providing there is no retaliation against it. Let me explain further.

Consider this, if I tell a lie to someone today, it might serve me well now, but afterward, I will have to live my life protecting that lie maybe by telling more lies or doing things to keep it from being found out. But if I tell the truth, though it may cost me some embarrassment etc, but in the end I am free from cares concerning what I did. People may not always like truth, but in the end it is better than a web of lies. A person who practices telling the truth is more respected in the end than one who lies anyway. This is something even our justice system depends on to thrive; lying witnesses are nobody's friend, not even to those whom they claim to be defending.

Consider this too, what if everyone lied? What would business be like? Would anyone accept cheques for payment or give credit? There are many benefits to having honest people, isn't there? What if everyone were thieves or even most people? Can you imagine the chaos? What if most people did not obey the laws of the land? There would be no established society. You see, we need goodness to survive, to live, to prosper. But can we be good on our own?

We can most certainly do good. Lots of good is done in the world everyday! We all can be kind. But I'm not speaking of doing good, we don't need Jesus to do good. But I'm speaking of being good by nature. That means we don't want to lie, steal etc, we naturally forgive, love and do the right thing all the time. Can you do that? Can you forgive someone who killed your children? Can you share your home with homeless people? Can you or will you treat other people's children as your own, not just sometimes, but all the time? Can you always be kind? Can you always tell the truth, no matter what? Can you always keep your word or promises? Do you have the will to break an addiction? Are you always fair and good to your spouse, children or parents?

Some might say, we have laws, and laws help us to be good. We have many laws in society, in fact, not just laws, but law enforcers, yet, there is still chaos. If laws were enough, why is there still so much wrong doing? You might then say, people need to be taught the right thing from childhood and then they will do better, or people need to become more educated and they will make better choices. Well, we have many educated people among us, who were taught the correct thing from childhood, yet they use the same education as a means of committing greater crimes!

Have you ever wondered why we have to teach our children to share? Or why we have to teach them to be clean etc? Yet, they seem to just know how to kick, scream, yell, lie, and fight, cry for other people's things etc. We never have to teach them these things. In fact, they don't even have to see anyone to practice these things. They just seem to naturally revert to these things. It is the nature of the person. Just as it is the nature of a cat to meow, and a dog to bark, you don't need to teach them; that is what they are. This is the kind of nature we need to be good, we need a good nature, not good teaching.

We may all be able to say, we have done good things, but can we be counted on to be this way all the time? The answer is obviously no. We can't be counted on. You might then say, so if Jesus can help us to be this way, why aren't Christians always good? Well, God may have given us a way through Jesus to be good, but he does not force anyone to act in accordance with his spirit. Jesus may well be in our lives, but every choice is still ours, and as humans, especially since we still have our evil mind and body with us, we may not always make the right choices.

Then you might say, so what's the big deal with getting a new nature from Jesus, if we have choice to do evil anyway? Well, the nature of a person determines who they are, the nature is pure, but we still have choices, but we may not always choose the right, however, we will not have ill-intent, which is what distinguishes good from evil. In the earth made new, with a new body, and nature/spirit, we will choose goodness always, because we have a good nature and now a clean mind. You might ask then, how is the earth made new, and a new body and mind an issue in being good?

If we get a new nature in Jesus, we still have our old mind and body that will always be a hindrance to us. Why? We still remember our old self, we still remember the pleasures derived from the bad things we have done before, we still have our old habits, we still have the same mind, and we will have to live with the limitations of our old body, sickness and all, the only difference is, we now have a new nature - new intent. and all this in the same world, with the same trials and the same struggles.

Since we still have our old mind, habits etc, body and limitations,  and we live in the same world, it appears nothing has changed, and so we struggle to choose the right thing, not because we don't want the right thing, but because we are still mainly ourselves. In order to do the right thing or choose the right thing, we become dependent on Jesus to live out his life in us. He came here and never lived as we live, because he had God's nature; he was God's son. This means that no matter what, he would always choose the right thing.

You might then say, so why not just change a person's location, give him a new body and mind, rather than change his nature? Well, if you have a good body and clean mind and the wrong nature, what do you think will happen? You will desire wrong just the same, and like a baby, display all the negative behaviors of your nature without being taught. This is why God wants a new nature for all. God wants all of us to be like Jesus, but not just that.

Let's say for this argument's sake, we all were genuinely good, not good works, good by nature - not desiring evil or being selfish, but good and we always choose to do the unselfish thing - the right thing, no matter what. Let's say we were all that good. As things are now, we would still die. Do you want to die? Nobody wants to die, except those who have come to hate their lives, because of evil others do to them. How could we then live, even though we are good? We need the life that doesn't die. This is also why we need Jesus. He was sent by God to give us life, not to prolong our life everlastingly in this miserable, unhappy, destructive world, but to preserve us perfect for a life in a new world to come. Isn't that a good thing?

So how does Jesus give you this life? You have to receive it from him with your new nature, by accepting him as the Lord of your life. If you pray to God, in Jesus name, and ask Jesus to become a part of his family, he will give you this life and new nature. It is not a physical life or nature to be seen, however, the result is a change of heart and actions, as you grow in your walk with Jesus, your mind will change towards everything and everyone, your nature will be changed instantly, as you will no longer desire to be your regular self. But you will need to be willing to grow.

God does not impose himself on anyone. Anyone who comes to you preaching Jesus or God with threats and issuing fear is not of the Spirit of God, as God does not force anyone to serve him. He has made a way, through his son Jesus, by giving him to us, to save all mankind, but he will not override our choices. We must always choose to surrender to God and to Jesus, he has given us our free will to do so.

If you wish to understand more or hear more about this gift God has given us through his son, read the chapter of John in the Bible. If you have questions you can contact anyone from these sites: http://restorationministry.com/, http://philagapeja.simplesite.com/, or ask a christian near you.

Have a blessed day in Jesus.