I love to get comments on a blog entry, and I want to respond to one I got to a recent entry entitled "Forever." I had a harsh and dramatic reaction in it to the idea that living a good life was a fulfilling path even if Jesus wasn't God and had not risen from the dead.
It's a good question: "Shouldn't love be its own reward?"
At the highest point on the triangle of human needs, in the world of self-actualization, love may be its own reward. I have never been to the realm of self-actualization, save by the power of Jesus, but I know there are altruistic people who do live in that rarefied atmosphere. It's hard for me to understand that, for the theology of the New Book indicates that sin should prevent that sort of selflessness, but I'd rather be challenged by the life of Gandhi than deny its value on some distorted view of the New Book. Jesus remarked on an occasion that "those who aren't against me are for me." There is value in good, whether a person does it with a pure heart or distorted one. Good and truth exist outside pure theology, and people can experience those things whether they are believers or not.
As we try to be unified in doing good, we need to be accepting of those who do it for different reasons. I can't find in myself the motivation to do the kind of good I want to do outside the power of Christ. In the 60s, the end result of my absolute commitment to a loving, caring community was to break into my friends' houses and rob them. I came to Jesus because of the gap between aspiration and execution. For thirty eight years, I have looked to see if I have come to a place where obedience to His instructions was my major motivation, not the desire for a reward or to avoid punishment.
If it's all a sham, I don't think I would walk a sacrificial life of service. I like carnal pleasures, and I'm not denying them out of the kindness of heart. I'm continuously trading baser instincts for higher ones, because Jesus wants that. Eternity plays a part, as I said in the original blog.
I love people who do good, who have a heart for the poor, orphans and the disenfranchised. People live that way for different reasons. With or without New Book faith. For me, if Jesus isn't risen and eternity is a fantasy, out of the way, I'm rolling joints and cruising retirement centers.
But Wednesdays and Thursdays, I'm still watching my grandchildren Greta and Calla, for some things will never change. My unconditional love for them is at the top of that list.
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1 comment:
It is too bad your blogs don't stimulate any discussion since you obviously put a fair amount of effort into them. They are both thoughtful and provocative, yet the only comments they generate seem to have been of the "You go, girl" variety. From time to time you even refer to attacks which may be, or might have been, made against you or your positions, but none of that appears on these pages.
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