#atozchallenge – Jesus Inspires Me

Although I was raised by a Christian mother and have attended church off and on throughout my life, no one will ever confuse me with a religious fanatic. Far from it. I am now an open Spiritualist. This allows me to see all of the beauty in various religions and grok from them the wisdom of their teachers and Masters. One of the greatest of these Masters, in my humble opinion, is Jesus. I do not always agree with how his words have been used in Christianity, but they are profound and do carry significant meanings for me. His teachings on peace, charity, tolerance, and love have always inspired me to be a better person. I strive to be Christ-like in all of my daily activities. Here are a few of his words that have greatly impacted me:

For me, the following quote has great significance. It does not mean to only love those who are just like you (which is what many people do, imho), but to love all of your neighbors:

“A good man out of the good treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is evil: for of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaketh.” Luke 6:45

“And why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say? Whosoever cometh to me, and heareth my sayings, and doeth them, I will shew you to whom he is like:

He is like a man which built a house, and digged deep, and laid the foundation on a rock: and when the flood arose, the stream beat vehemently upon that house, and could not shake it: for it was founded upon a rock. But he that heareth, and doeth not, is like a man that without a foundation built a house upon the earth; against which the stream did beat vehemently, and immediately it fell; and the ruin of that house was great.” Luke 6: 47-48

Interesting Facts: While Christians believe that Jesus is the Son of God, Muslims believe him to merely be a prophet, and Jews do not believe he is a prophet nor the Messiah at all since he didn’t fulfill their Messianic prophesies. (source)

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Thank you for joining me for the A-to-Z Challenge. If you’d like to see who else is participating, check them out here.

Each day, I will be posting about People Who Inspire Me.