Life has more than one meaning. In most cases, we think of human life as breathing and a heartbeat. Christ often talked about a different kind of life--a spiritual life. Those who lack this type of life are not necessarily dead or dying physically, but they lack contentment, lack a sense of fulfillment, of purpose, of power, of destiny, of virtue. When we continually seek after and completely give ourselves over to Christ, we live in a state of continual joy, peace, love, and fulfillment. Christ came that we might have such life, and that we might have it more abundantly. I interpret this to mean, deeper joy, love, and fulfillment as we increasingly live as He did. If we prove that we are willing to do all things He asks us, we will be awarded with life that is so deep in its richness, it can be referred to as eternal life.
0 Comments
Since God is truly an all-knowing individual and has a perfect love for all mankind, why doesn't he tell us everything? Why not tell us every last detail about how to best live and how to act in every situation?
God is the perfect teacher, and trains us in a manner that will make real, lasting changes to our character. That learning process requires that we learn much for ourselves, rather than simply reading it from a book or hearing it from a preacher. What we hear or read can inspire us, but what we learn for ourselves truly changes us. Perhaps most critically, God holds us accountable for what we know. Those that do not understand a principle are not condemned for failing to live that principle. Such ignorance is NOT bliss, because ignorance also means a lack of joy or happiness as a result of living that principle. However, if we were given all knowledge that God has, all at once, we could not handle it. By "not handle it," I mean we could not live up to the high standard of knowledge we'd have, and we would be constantly under heavy condemnation as a result. To one group, he put it this way: "Ye call upon my name for revelations, and I give them unto you; and inasmuch as ye keep not my sayings, which I give unto you, ye become transgressors; and justice and judgment are the penalty which is affixed unto my law." Thus, our ignorance is a blessing of a loving God. Not that he wants to keep things from us--quite the opposite. But in his infinite wisdom and kindness he only reveals to us that which we are capable of living up to. Inasmuch as we are faithful to what we do know, he then adds to our knowledge little by little: "line upon line, precept upon precept, here a little and there a little." How much knowledge is God willing to impart? Multiple scriptures give us hints: "But the path of the just is as the shining light, that shineth more and more unto the perfect day." "That which is of God is light; and he that receiveth light, and continueth in God, receiveth more light; and that light groweth brighter and brighter until the perfect day." “And [the angel] said unto me: Knowest thou the meaning of the tree which thy father saw?”
“And I looked, and I beheld the Son of God going forth among the children of men; and I saw many fall down at his feet and worship him. And I beheld that he went forth ministering unto the people, in power and great glory; and the multitudes were gathered together to hear him.” “And I beheld multitudes of people who were sick, and who were afflicted with all manner of diseases, and with devils and unclean spirits; and the angel spake and showed all these things unto me. And they were healed by the power of the Lamb of God; and the devils and the unclean spirits were cast out.” “The angel spake unto me again, saying: Look! And I looked and beheld the Lamb of God, that he was taken by the people; yea, the Son of the everlasting God was judged of the world; and I saw and bear record.” “And I, Nephi, saw that he was lifted up upon the cross and slain for the sins of the world.” “[The angel] said unto me, Nephi, what beholdest thou?” “And I looked and beheld [Mary], bearing a child in her arms.” “And the angel said unto me: Behold the Lamb of God, yea, even the Son of the Eternal Father! Knowest thou the meaning of the tree which thy father saw?” “And I answered him, saying: Yea, it is the love of God.” God chooses not to force moral behavior. He sometimes allows His children to ignore one another, hurt each other, hate each other, torture and kill one another. He extends punishment to those who commit atrocities, but does not prevent people from committing the atrocities in the first place.
Why? Because individual freedom of choice is worth the cost. If God prevented evil from happening, there would be no evil. But the absence of evil would come at a price: no freedom, and therefore no real good. People would act in an acceptable manner only because they were forced to. Because evil would never happen, no one would comprehend the value of good. God has said that man's purpose of existence is "that they might have joy," and joy only comes from willfully living right. Character is built when a person can selfishly choose evil but persistently chooses good instead. Where there is no freedom, there can be no character. Why not prevent at least the worst tragedies? Because God has given each person the potential to become great, each person also can use that same potential to become terrible. The only way to remove the worst is to remove our potential to become greatest. What could possibly be worth this much suffering and death? Everlasting world peace. Indescribable, persistent, absolute love. Eternal joy. Forever faithful family and friends, whose character will never diminish. Power to improve the lives of others beyond what we can imagine. Permanent absence of fear, guilt, hate, jealousy, and corruption, and permanent presence of love, kindness, caring, and selflessness. And all of this achieved not by force, but by the willful choices of those who have built such character through persistently choosing the good while here in this training school we call earth. Because of Christ, we will all be resurrected one day, and our physical bodies will never again be subject to death. Because of Christ, we can choose to rectify our mistakes and learn from our errors during our lifetime, refining our characters into that worthy of the ultimate utopian destination we call the kingdom of heaven. God won't force us to become like he is so that we can live in perfect joy forever. But he has given us the freedom to choose good or evil so that we can build a God-like character if we desire it. God loves us too much to stop all tragedies from occurring. "The fear of the Lord is to hate evil."
Hate is used in many ways. Hate can be an emotion or an action. It can mean anything from a mild aversion to an all-consuming detestation. A person hoping a sports team loses is often called a hater, just as someone who violently abuses a person because of his or her beliefs. Am I a hater? If the definition is truly that broad, then the answer for me and every other person must be yes, for we all have aversion to some things. Since everyone is a hater, the important question is no longer who is a hater, but what are the restrictions of the hatred. For instance, we should not hate the person or people that hold to beliefs we find aversive. Christian hatred is restricted to an aversion to the evil itself. Christ said plainly, "Love your enemies." All too often, acts of hatred are committed in the name of retribution for perceived hatred. If hate is so wrong, why use hateful rhetoric or actions to counter it? Hateful acts are not a logical way to counter hate. Christ taught a better way. Don't hate on haters. Likely in an attempt to paint him as a fraud, certain men asked Jesus a question they were sure he could not answer: "What is the greatest commandment?" His answer was simple yet profound: "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God... And the second is like unto it: Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself."
How do we keep this great commandment to love God? How can we love someone we cannot see and do not know? There are many ways to love God, including keeping His commandments, praying, reading about Him in the scriptures, and serving His children. It is serving his children I want to speak about today. The first two commandments are deeply connected. If you ask God-fearing parents what acts of service they appreciate most from others, they are likely to point out efforts that have helped their children grow closer to God. They cite service to their children as if it directly benefited them. And it really does. There are few greater joys than watching your child progress. Heavenly Father also thinks service to His children is a direct blessing to Himself. He says, “Inasmuch as ye have done it unto the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.” And in another place, “When ye are in the service of your fellow beings, ye are only in the service of your God.” In fact, how much we love God's children truly reflects how much we love Him. This was clear to John the Apostle, who said to the early Saints, "if a man say he love God but hate his brother, he is a liar." Consider Peter, a fisherman in Galilee. One day, Peter met and listened to Jesus as he taught from Peter's own fishing boat. When Jesus was finished teaching, he asked Peter to throw out his fishing net. Peter had fished all night and caught nothing, but this time his net filled with so many fish that it started to break. That was the last time we read about Peter fishing for a long time. He left that net and all he had, and followed Jesus. As the Savior put it, he was called to fish "men." During the next few years Peter saw Jesus cast out devils, heal the sick, cause the lame to walk, and even raise the dead. He witnessed the Savior's ultimate example of love, from his suffering at Gethsemane, to his crucifixion at Calvary. He saw our resurrected Lord, and was told to go into all the world, loving people as He had loved them. It is at this point we next read about Peter fishing. One night, He and several other Apostles decided to go cast their nets again. Once again, they caught nothing all night. When the morning came, they heard someone calling to them from the shore. The man told them to cast out their net one more time, this time on the right side of the boat. They did so, and their net came up so full of fishes that they were not able to pull it up out of the water. At this point I imagine they were thinking to themselves, "this is familiar." John looked over at Peter and said "It is the Lord." They dragged their net to the shore and had fish for dinner. The Lord looked at Peter and said, "Lovest thou me more than these?" Peter answered affirmatively. "Feed my sheep," was the Savior's reply. We never read of Peter going fishing again. Am I ever caught fishing when I should be serving God's children? If so, I should remember the second and third questions Jesus asked Peter. Both were "Lovest thou me?" Christ's reply to an affirmative response: "Feed my sheep." God is the happiest person I know. His happiness is constant, deep, and lasting. It doesn't fade with time, doesn't seek for the next thrill, takes no pleasure out from others' suffering, but persists even during trials.
Why is God so happy? It is because He has learned how to be happy, and he lives what he knows. What does He do with His time? He says he spends it "bring[ing] to pass the immortality and eternal life of man." He is always serving His children. He is always nurturing, looking after, teaching, and performing miracles for His children. He is the very embodiment of love. If I want to be happy like God, I need to become like God is--think what He thinks, work like He works, do what He does. What work in this life most closely emulates the work of God? Motherhood. Motherhood is nurturing, caring for, teaching, and serving. Motherhood is helping children come step by step closer to the greatest good they can be. Motherhood is love. Motherhood is happiness. Some women teach that the greatest satisfaction for women comes from rejecting motherhood for alternatives. Others teach that killing unborn children is better than being an untimely mother. These women do not know God. They may know of Him and be acquainted with His teachings, but they do not know Him. Of all the possible titles that can be obtained in this life, the most honorable and joyful title a woman can receive is the heavenly calling of "mom." No other position or accomplishment will bring more joy, more personal progression, more character, or more satisfaction. Motherhood is emulating God. Christmas in the United States and elsewhere is considered a special day. What would happen if we celebrated Christmas in the same manner every day? Though seemingly an enticing idea, if Christmas were every day, it would no longer be a special day. Soon it would be treated just as every other day, and the reverence and of the celebration would disappear. Though every day would be sacred, it wouldn't take long before no day was regarded with reverence. If Christmas were celebrated 3 or 4 times a year, we would still have a diminished respect for this most sacred day.
It is not that the birth of Christ would have lost its specialness, rather it would be too-often repetition that would diminish our perception of its specialness. Just like Christmas, our bodies are a gift most sacred and special. Many consider the commandment "thou shalt not commit adultery" and similar Christian teachings to be too difficult, too restrictive, or simply not very important. But the more we share our bodies, the less sacred they are perceived to be. Even the most vile human traffickers place a premium on those who have not yet shared their bodies with anyone. Even the devil recognizes how invaluable our bodies are. That is why he tries so hard to get us to view others' bodies inappropriately or share our bodies with others. He wants us to lose our sense of reverence for our body and the intimacy that should be held sacred between husband and wife alone. Just as I should reverence Christ, I should reverence the body God has given me. No person should force indecent exposure. No media outlet should encourage the devaluation of modesty and decency. No government should force exposure of my body, or require physical touching of my body without reasonably strong evidence of endangerment to others. Any encroachment on these principles is a blatant denial of the God-ordained right of all men and women to have their bodies kept sacred and have them treated with the reverence that true Christians would afford a temple. At times we feel we've reached our capacity to love a person--a family member or a friend for instance. We feel our hearts are full; we could not love this person any more than we do. Years later, we reflect on that love and realize it has grown by leaps and bounds. It wasn't that we didn't love before, it was that our capacity to love has increased. The amount of love we can feel and give has grown.
Faith works in a similar manner. We may feel that we could not believe any more strongly than we do. But as we live our faith over time, our faith grows even more. It isn't that we didn't believe with all our hearts and minds before, it is that our ability to believe has grown. Peter seems a good example of this principle. From the beginning, he was willing to leave his life and livelihood, to sacrifice everything simply to follow his Savior. When others questioned the Savior's divinity, he unequivocally stated "Thou art the Christ, the Son of the Living God." Such strength of faith is a rare thing. Yet, in spite of this strength, he wavered when he tried to walk on the water to Jesus. He denied association with Christ three times during the Savior's final trials. After our Lord's resurrection, he returned to fishing for fish rather than men. Though Peter may have felt he had complete faith, his faith still seemed to grow with time. Shortly after Christ's ascension, he rejoiced that we was beaten and imprisoned for preaching of Christ. He immediately acted on a controversial revelation he received on the preaching of the Gospel to the Gentiles. It seems clear that Peter's faith wasn't weak in his own eyes when he left his nets to follow Christ. Yet it seems clear his faith grew with time. Peter's capacity for faith seemed to grow with experience. His ability to believe ever more strongly--to be ever more convinced of the truthfulness of the Gospel--seemed to grow with time. A tendency toward defensiveness might lead us to believe our religious meetings cannot be improved. Certainly they can. They are the coming together of imperfect people, and imperfect people generally make imperfect meetings. As long as we deny our imperfections, we will remain ignorant of how we can improve. How can we improve? Some would like to see more action and more entertainment. More spiritual manifestations like speaking in tongues and fainting under the influence of God. More worship through interesting visiting speakers. Improved diversity in music and more interesting and lively speakers. More openness to new changes and new ways of livening up the atmosphere. In general, make them less "dull."
More spiritual manifestations I appreciate spiritual manifestations. But rather than more speaking in tongues or passing out, I'd prefer more instances of those convincing feelings of love from my Heavenly Father. More interesting celebrity speakers I would like to do a better job of worshiping while I am in church. But I don't think a visiting celebrity is required. I would prefer deeper, more heartfelt prayers, even more powerful testimonials and expressions of love and appreciation, and further increased reverent behavior toward all things sacred. I would like my heart to incline further toward spiritual blessings above all else. More diversity in music I would like improved music. Though we can always improve our singing abilities and variety, my greater desire is that more of the singing will come from ever deeper within my heart. More interesting talks I think talks can improve. I've had the privilege of being taught by what I consider to be some of the most eloquent and skilled teachers on earth. Speaking and teaching skills can make a difference. But the difference these make is secondary. To improve talks, I'd prefer greater spiritual preparation through more righteous living, careful study, and humble prayer and fasting. Speaking skills, like singing ability, can only accentuate what is already inside me. More openness to new changes I believe a dynamic vision and an open mind is necessary to attract and retain converts. But rather than redefining our vision to focus solely on satisfying entertainment preferences, the vision of our minds and hearts should be open to making the changes that are inspired by heaven. I like to see new approaches embraced, inasmuch as they are inspired of Him in whose name we worship, as these will be best designed to bring souls to Christ. Less important are new methods that focus on bringing souls to "see the show." The latter inspires fleeting commitment. The former creates an eternal beacon. |
What is this site?
This is a website where short thoughts on gospel topics are regularly posted. If you'd like to have new thoughts come to you rather than having to check the site regularly, you may want to use the RSS Feed.
|