All we need to do is become his disciples and adopt a Christian worldview and conduct ourselves accordingly.
What follows are His quotes on the characteristics required to attain eternal life:
a) On Christian discipline
It’s important to determine what you want in your Christian life and what is required for success. You will need to be completely honest with yourself. It requires a complete about turn from living as if being of this world, to living in conformity with where we hope to go.
The gospel message is about grace; indeed unmerited grace. However, with grace comes indwelling of the spirit, and thus the gifts that come with the holy spirit 1 Cor 12:1-11. These are wisdom, understanding, counsel, fortitude, knowledge, piety, and fear of the Lord. Our behaviour changes in line with the gifts endowed on us. Indeed, we rise and fall, as all men must, but first is a recognition of the change and thereafter experiential living, stumbling and rising every day until the end of our lives.
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b) On how to use money and possessions Luke 16:1-31
The parable of the Shrewd Steward is a complicated story that makes it appear as though the Lord is commending theft. He is however encouraging us to use foresight in our aim of reaching the Kingdom of Heaven, just as the gentiles plan their lives on earth.
Christians should use foresight to grow their heavenly bank accounts with acts of compassion, mercy, and love. We are encouraged to use mammon wisely by serving God with it and thus filling our Treasury in heaven.
The parable of the rich man and Lazarus further illustrates the importance of using mammon to serve God. The rich man suffers for not lifting a finger to help those in need. Lazarus suffered all his life and receives no support from those in plenty. Their roles are reversed in death.
The rich man begs to send a warning to his relatives, but he is told that if they did not listen to Moses and the prophets, even he who rises from the dead will be ignored; a reference himself. As Christians, we have no choice but to be generous with our possessions. What we have is a gift from our maker, who is the ultimate source of all things. It is incumbent for us to use what we have for the Kingdom of heaven, thus reflecting the teachings and practice of a Jesus worldview.
c) On looking out for other disciples and our neighbor's in general Matt 25:40
Matthew 25:40 “Suggests that doing something for the least of my brethren is equivalent to doing something for Christ” It is your generosity, charity, prayers, and so on for all of your neighbours, that will determine the balance of your bank account in heaven and recognition from our master.
Neighbours means everyone else besides you, namely all disciples and further to that gentiles. He demands that we concern ourselves with all of humanity and be supportive in whatever small or big way that we can. The support we offer can be both spiritual and material. Material is straightforward, but spiritual can be in prayer and in other more earthly things like a smile, being supportive, and just generally being positive in a world that can be hard and harsh.
I remember when once walking as a student on the streets, a fellow pedestrian simply said, “Chin up, the world is not that terrible”, and kept walking. It was exactly what I needed to hear. I still remember it to this day, an incident that happened 30 years ago. Spiritual support can come in any number of ways, just use your imagination.
There are practical limitations, rarely spoken about when it comes to offering material assistance to others. I bring this up because there is much abuse around this issue and I thought it would be useful to share some thoughts. I generally take the view that you give what you can, and you should certainly not do so to your own detriment or those of your dependents.
The gifts you have are first for you and those who rely on you, then for your neighbours. Making sacrifices at home, to increase your charitable giving is one thing, but a blatant disregard for the necessities of your loved ones is a form of false discipleship, which can even be likened to tempting our maker when he hears your dependents lamenting. Take care of your house first, then the world.
Tithing is really just a guide since we are not under the Law of Moses. If you can, give more (as many do) and less if you cannot (with no penalty). Whether tithing or giving what you can, you have a responsibility to ensure that what you give goes to the poor, and the downtrodden and to spreading the gospel. Always remember the ascetic living of our Lord and his disciples and ask yourself if the entities that you are giving to, honour the poor and live as he did. Question your conscience and act on it.
Be careful of the modern-day Pharisees, who are very quick to enrich themselves from the offerings of their parishioners rather than directing such offerings to the poor and to missionary work. Judge using your conscience and act accordingly. If you find that you cannot trust your offerings to be directed to the poor, then give to the poor directly. There are many lay and Christian organizations that concern themselves with providing care and support for the poor.
God will see what you do in secret and reward you for your discernment. It is good to give, but if you can, ensure you are giving to the right people who employ what you give for the right purpose.
We continue in the next post Teachings of Jesus Christ 2