To: 2MAR$ who wrote (12252 ) 5/8/2002 10:32:39 AM From: Grandk Read Replies (4) | Respond to Christ did not come so that men may find yet another way to work at becoming something. The goal of Christ's disciple is to be like Christ by grace not by works. This does not mean trying to achieve a state of nirvana in which we find no need of emotion. On the contrary, to be a Christian is to grow in the love of God. Deeper still is that love. It is not eros, a love that looks to gain anything from the one it loves, but agape. Agape loves simply because that is it's nature. God is agape. God loves simply because it is what He does. It is not a love based on trying to gain something. God loves because He gives all of Himself to His creation. So the Christian puts on Christ, (who is God), and through Him the Christian is able to love with agape: the pure, untainted power of heaven. Mars, the message of the cross is that good comes from evil. Jesus, the only perfect, innocent man was unjustly murdered. Yet, through God's love, that horrible event was used for good and we now have forgiveness for sins for everyone that believes on Him. So the worst tragedy turned into the greatest gift. That is what love does. It takes all the ugliness of the world including man's corrupt heart and makes it beautiful. It takes all the selfishness of the world and makes it selfless. No man can do this. It is a gift of God. We receive the grace of God by faith in Christ.
