Unless you hate your very life in this world, you cannot be my disciple. Jesus
Well, that's pretty harsh, isn't it?
And why would you give someone a rule like that?
He wasn't handing out a rule, he was pointing out a fact.
Well wait a minute, who would hate their life in this world? Well, james, the one writing here does. He finds the pain of our hatefulness, what we do to each other, what we're doing to the planet, unbearable, which is why I have been drawn to the life teachings and way of the man Jesus who felt the same way but found a way to have joyful abundant Life anyway.
So who else could hate their life in this world? In this material world? Well, thousands and millions of Americans kill themselves with alcohol, with pain medication, and other ways, seems fair to say they hate their life in this world and they haven't found a better way.
A corollary to that is that people that are satisfied, that their humanity is so dead that the needless prevailing suffering in this world doesn't bother them much, they can't be Jesus disciple. They can be the disciple of the Christian Jesus that asks nothing but gives for free a condo in the sky, but the real jesus? No, they can't.
Oh, and obviously, within weeks, months, a few years, this earthly hell is going to be far worse, far more intolerable. And only those that learn the way of being that Jesus gave his life to show us, are going to have a life worth living. And some may find sanity and motivation in becoming a light now to show those around them, especially their dearest loved ones, joyful life anyway. Heaven. Salvation.
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