A Meditation on Doing Good Works

If a storm is not raging within your heart and soul to do Good Works in the name of God, then you have not heard the challenge of the Good News that Jesus preached, or you have heard it incorrectly.

If your soul is not moved to serve others when you read the words that Jesus preached, then your religious teachers have failed you, because they have failed to inspire you to do righteous Acts in the name of God, as Jesus commanded us to do. If you claim to follow his words, which will never die and never pass away, you will obey him and serve others and love God.

And we will not obey as an afterthought – as mere scraps of “gratitude” from the table – but as complete servants giving up our entire feast to others and to God. The table and all that is on it belongs to God, not to us, and sharing is not optional, it’s a condition of our very salvation.

Jesus clearly tells us that we must do Good Works, that we must be Righteous in our actions, and that we must be Perfect as our Heavenly Father is Perfect. Jesus tells us we can accomplish this, that we have it within ourselves to begin the work, and that, with his perfect example always in uppermost in our minds, and with the ongoing and always nourishing Spirit of God inspiring us towards this goal and strengthening us, we may achieve what God requires of us.

God’s commands are not unreasonable, nor are they impossible, because if we cannot do what God asks us to do, and will be punished for not accomplishing it, then God would be both unrighteous and unjust, and Jesus, who was God’s spokesman, would be a liar. And we know that he is not.

Let us rededicate ourselves to loving and serving our neighbors, loving our enemies, praying for everyone, relying on God for renewal and strength, loving God in gratitude for all He has given us, and taking up the challenge of the Good News which Jesus revealed to us.