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I wonder why Jesus says the two commandments are to love God with all your mind heart and soul, and to love your neighbor as yourself? We are also to love our enemies.
Jesus taught so many things, yet those many things which point to a higher truth are plowed under. They are plowed under by horrendous non-truths about our Creator.
To love God with all of your heart, mind and soul. He KNOWS that we would never be able to do that if we didn't have the TRUTH within us. Those commands PUSH us towards truth. If we don't follow those commands, (we may pretend we do, and say it with our mouths but our hearts can be FAR from Him. We can say it with our mouths and pretend in our minds, but it could be mostly out of FEAR) we will remain stagnant on the path to the glorious truth.
Those who believe in Hell yet say they love God with all their mind, heart and soul are confused about ONE thing. They either do not TRULY believe in Hell in their heart of hearts, or they do NOT TRULY love God with all of their mind, heart and soul. I firmly believe t is absolutely, completely, TOTALLY IMPOSSIBLE to do both.
Impossible. Think about this. Pray about it. Challenge yourself, Challenge your beliefs. Pray. Ask God to guide you. Ask Father. He will never leave you, nor forsake you.
The commands that Jesus says on which HANGS ALL OF THE LAW!!! Don't just wave it away. I just ask that instead of a knee-jerk reaction to what I've said here, that you just think on it. Ask God to guide you to the truth. Medidtate day and night on those two commands.
Love the Lord your God with all your heart, MIND and SOUL! And LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF. And remember that his BURDEN IS LIGHT.
GOD is not a liar. His burden IS light.
LOVE GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART! My family, my neighbors, even those I have a hard time liking, God is reconciling them. Eventually they will all understand how much God loves them. Eventually all will have their hearts FILLED with LOVE. Eventually, there will be NO EVIL TO RESTRAIN! Because God's LAW (LOVE) has been written on EVERY heart! THIS is how LOVE CONQUERS ALL. NOT by snuffing out, not by endlessly mindlessly torturing (God FORBID!!!) but by CONQUERING, by OVERCOMING!! That is the TRUE picture of Glory. Anything less would not give glory to God. Anything LESS would REMOVE the POWER of Love. The power of love is unstoppable. LOVE conquers ALL. Anything less ROBS GOD of GLORY!
How the love bubbles up in your whole being for a God that is THIS great! This POWERFUL! If even ONE little lamb, one little human being, one of our brothers or sisters was lost...it changes EVERYTHING.
No. HE is the GOOD SHEPHERD. Not ONE will be lost.
Hallelujah!! Now this is a God that brings forth all the love in one's heart.
This is a God who brings forth all the love in one's heart for their NEIGHBOR. This is a God who brings forth a change of heart towards one's enemies. Because we see the TRUTH. We see a time when our enemie's hearts will be filled with God's heart, and we see how we will no longer be enemies, but BROTHER AND SISTER. This is OUR God. The ONE TRUE GOD.
The two commands are a KEY to knowledge.
Ask God to help you. Ask Him to help you love Him with all of your heart, mind and soul and ask Him to help you love your neighbor as yourself.
Peace.
Man's conscience is so deeply stained with his own sin that he cannot easily accept the idea that God loves him freely, without cost.
And Christendom is still very busy reminding us of how "dirty" we are, (perhaps it's the only way to get members?) --when we have been washed clean by Christ for at least 2,000 years now! Mankind has been reconciled to God all this time, and so few can believe it!!
It's almost as though man has a natural inclination to consider himself dirty. Remember the movie "Pretty Woman?" "It's easier to believe the bad things that people say about you more than the good."
Glory to God for His unspeakable gift to all mankind!
If it is a parable, it is the only parable in the Bible which names the persons in it. Also, if it is a parable, why didn't Jesus say it was a parable? Thirdly, all parables are spiritual messages told as common earthly experiences, but this one is obviously an earthy experience.
Of course it is a parable Finn, Jesus always spoke in parables. What was the "rich man's" name? Just because Jesus gave one of the characters a name doesn't make it literal truth. Did you even read the link?
Man's conscience is so deeply stained with his own sin that he cannot easily accept the idea that God loves him freely, without cost.
And Christendom is still very busy reminding us of how "dirty" we are, (perhaps it's the only way to get members?) --when we have been washed clean by Christ for at least 2,000 years now! Mankind has been reconciled to God all this time, and so few can believe it!!
It's almost as though man has a natural inclination to consider himself dirty. Remember the movie "Pretty Woman?" "It's easier to believe the bad things that people say about you more than the good."
Glory to God for His unspeakable gift to all mankind!
Blessings!
Brian
Excellent point Brian,and part of the root problem of why christianity cannot see beyond hell.All what they imagine it is, obscures all what God really is.
Of course it is a parable Finn, Jesus always spoke in parables. What was the "rich man's" name? Just because Jesus gave one of the characters a name doesn't make it literal truth. Did you even read the link?
I already gave you three reasons why it is probably not a parable, but even if it was, the message is still the same. You can get carried away with links written by other people saying "the rich man represents this, Lazarus represents this, the dog represents this, their clothes represent this, the water represents this, Abraham represents this, bad side is Hades represents this, the good side represents that, rich man's brothers represent this and that and the other thing" and they put all these things in a blender, and out comes an amazing story which has nothing to do with what Jesus said.
People twist and turn and create amazing stories out of a simple message. The message desrcibes afterlife, plain and simple. There is no need to create something else out of it.
I already gave you three reasons why it is probably not a parable, but even if it was, the message is still the same. You can get carried away with links written by other people saying "the rich man represents this, Lazarus represents this, the dog represents this, their clothes represent this, the water represents this, Abraham represents this, bad side is Hades represents this, the good side represents that, rich man's brothers represent this and that and the other thing" and they put all these things in a blender, and out comes an amazing story which has nothing to do with what Jesus said.
People twist and turn and create amazing stories out of a simple message. The message desrcibes afterlife, plain and simple. There is no need to create something else out of it.
"probably" not a parable???? Dear Finn, you just admitted yourself that it is in fact a parable and you cannot prove otherwise because that is exactly how Jesus taught. You don't understand it and we know from the other parables that Jesus gave us that it is completely symbolic and has nothing to do with heaven or hell. It's understandable that the people present with Jesus didn't get what he was saying, and he did that on purpose per his own words! But there is no excuse for someone to still be in the dark about this parable and what it means. Read the link.
I already gave you three reasons why it is probably not a parable, but even if it was, the message is still the same. You can get carried away with links written by other people saying "the rich man represents this, Lazarus represents this, the dog represents this, their clothes represent this, the water represents this, Abraham represents this, bad side is Hades represents this, the good side represents that, rich man's brothers represent this and that and the other thing" and they put all these things in a blender, and out comes an amazing story which has nothing to do with what Jesus said.
People twist and turn and create amazing stories out of a simple message. The message desrcibes afterlife, plain and simple. There is no need to create something else out of it.
Exactly, God judges us all and we cannot escape that, plain and simple, God will save all mankind, plain and siimple, no need to get carried away trying to make anything more out of it.
Direct communication from God......all righty then. Thanks for the clarification.
Well, looks like further clarification is in order. Jesus tells us he is not God and, further, he doesn't want anyone to worship him as God, who is his Father and our Father.
Jesus' writing of September 14, 1914:
"I was the instrument in God's hands of leading men to His favor and Love. When I said 'I am the Way, the Truth and the Life,' I meant that through my teachings and example men should be able to find God. I was not God and never claimed to be. The worship of me as a God is blasphemous, and I did not teach it. I am a son of God, as you are. Do not let the teachings of men lead you to worship me as a God. I am not."
"probably" not a parable???? Dear Finn, you just admitted yourself that it is in fact a parable and you cannot prove otherwise because that is exactly how Jesus taught.
Yes, probably, since no one knows for sure. There are arguments both ways, and the ones saying it is not a parable are far more convincing that the ones saying it is a parable. The argument saying "it is a parable because Jesus talked in parables" is horribly weak.
Quote:
You don't understand it and we know from the other parables that Jesus gave us that it is completely symbolic and has nothing to do with heaven or hell. It's understandable that the people present with Jesus didn't get what he was saying, and he did that on purpose per his own words! But there is no excuse for someone to still be in the dark about this parable and what it means. Read the link.
If you undersood it, you wouldn't offer me someone else's understanding of it. You are letting other people to tell you what to believe. The story is not a mystery, and it is indeed about the afterlife. I have read the UR interpreptions about it, and they are EXACTLY what I described in my earlier post. They let their imaginations run WILD and come up with a story which is not even remotely connected to Jesus's teaching. They bury the whole story under a mountain of interpreptions which they pulled form the seat of their pants.
Hi Finn: ref the parables of Jesus, like Ilene said this is a parable. In fact it is the fifth part of a five part parable that started with the Lost Sheep, then The Lost Coin, Then The prodigal son and then the Unjust Steward and finally Lazarus and the rich man. They like all parable are of the same thing. Like Jesus said if you understand one parable you will understand them all. They all tell the same message with just a different angle or slant, or from a different perspective but they all mean the same thing. the Bible is one big parable, what is the Bible telling us? That God is creating man in his own image. That is the answer to all the parables. God is creating man in his own image.
If God does not open your eyes to that you will not see it and will think that I am a fool who is misrepresenting the Bible and what the message of it is. If you continue to think age-during is eternal you will not understand the Bible.
Remember the wages of sin is death not eternal torture.
If God does not open your eyes to that you will not see it and will think that I am a fool who is misrepresenting the Bible and what the message of it is. If you continue to think age-during is eternal you will not understand the Bible.
Remember the wages of sin is death not eternal torture.
I'll say that back to you: If God does not open your eyes to that you will not see it. Happy?
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