LRC, Houston - the weekends-free church in Houston, Texas

It can’t be done! So, why do we continually not only try, but teach others that it’s the goal of Christianity- and many other religions. Law keeping is an Old Testament paradigm that Jesus, who became the Christ, replaced with what He called the “Kingdom of God”. The ego though wants to live and it will constanyly tell us that we can do it. No we cannot!

Richard Rohr was my latest reminder that life is by grace.

I can’t tell you how many times I have been condemned by Matt. 5:48. And then there are the numerous ways that I have interpreted the verse: so-called exegeting it (more ego!). So much of our “Bible bashing” is as a result of various translations. There’s the KJV that says, “Be ye perfect as your Father in heaven is perfect”. And then, there’s the Message that says, “Live generously and graciously toward others, the way God lives toward you.”

Of course the KJV appeals to our either-or, binary mind wherein the ego attempts to perfect itself. Take your egoic clothes off and give it up!

Then there’s the Message which apeals to the unitive heart approach: a non-dualistic paradigm that attempts to unite the creation with the Creator. As Rohr wrote, “A spiritually mature person could use the word “perfection” and know that we’re talking about God’s perfection abiding within us. An immature person will think of it as a moral achievement that they can attain by working harder.”

I’ve been there, done that! It doesn’t work.

What we’re to keep is not the LAW, but the LOVE of God within our hearts and then share that with a world that desperately needs such.