You see a lovely picture of a snail. This little creature fascinated me at the time of taking the photo. His shell is that of the golden mean, i.e. a perfect shape that repeats itself smaller and smaller in perfect proportion. But in philosophy the golden mean can be the middle way. The path between two extremes.
I was thinking on how Jesus entered Jerusalem as a king hailed as the saviour. Cheers and shouts of hosanna everywhere but how not long after he endured ridicule, torment, and insults as he dragged his cross back out of the city to death and then resurrection.
Was this the middle way? From reading the scriptures Jesus was in no way following a middle path. He was an extremist for love. He gave us the commands of His Father and it did not leave any middle ground for us to debate. Jesus tells us that He is the only way to the Father, and He is the only way that we will have eternal life. As extreme as that is, as saddening as that leads us to various conclusions we have to accept it, there will be some who will not gain salvation. If there are people that will not gain salvation, or so we think for we are not judging for God is the only judge, we must pray for them. Petition God to come down into their lives and make a difference. Now, this moment!
6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me
Do we accept the Lord one day with cries of hosanna and then the next turn our back on him?
Jesus didn’t leave us that option that we had to accept him as a sort of saviour to follow, to be lukewarm. We have to accept Him and we have to follow him.
15 “I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot. I could wish you were cold or hot.16 So then, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will vomit you out of My mouth.
This is certainly not lukewarm, middle of the road teaching. On the contrary it is sobering and it calls us to order. It certainly puts me in my place and when I read this passage it certainly motivates myself to get of my bottom and pray, to do God’s work, to just get out there and stop hiding.
Do we accept some of the easier teachings and then when we get down to the ones that are hard to accept we just ignore them?
Jesus turned everything on its head, and he still does. In the old testament there were many rules. There were the one we must follow, engraved on stone by God himself, and the ones the Israelites followed in the wilderness as they developed that God commanded to be hung on the outside of the Ark. This seems significant to me, because even though many of these rules are now adapted into laws here in the UK, many seem specific for the culture at the time. Jesus summed all the laws into this golden rule.
12 Therefore, whatever you want men to do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets.
So rather than a middle road of lukewarm acceptance, following a few of God’s laws and deceiving yourselves, we are all called to follow God fully, with extreme love, with extreme commitment and without excuse.
30 And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ This is the first commandment. 31 And the second, like it, is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.”
Dear Lord, help everyone and ourselves to fully commit to you.
In Jesus name
Amen
365 Exhortations 