Happy is everyone who fears the LORD, who walks in his ways. You shall eat the fruit of the labor of your hands....
The promise is clear: if we will choose a new way to live---the Way of Jesus---then we will have happiness; we will become whole; we will have shalom, peace.
But, somehow, we think that this promise means our happiness comes without struggle or pain. So, when we experience struggle and pain, we may be tempted to think: “Well, that Jesus thing was a nice idea, but I guess it doesn’t work.”
Walking and living like Jesus doesn’t mean there will not be suffering; Jesus suffered.
It means we will be sustained through the suffering, loved through the suffering, and there will be new life after the suffering. Living the Jesus way means we bring light into the world---the light of compassion, mercy, forgiveness and kindness. We don’t do this for a future benefit, but the benefit that is received right now---the fruits of the labor of our hands which are the postive consequences of our good choices, our generous acts, and our kind words.
This Way is not a program or a “how-to” manual. It is a process---a series of shedding habits and taking on the ways of light. Sometimes we fall back or stay stagnant; other times are times of great growth and movement. And through it all, we will be sustained. As Mark 6 reminds us, this is a God of abundance, but first we must be willing to share and to give of what we have.
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