God has set high standards for us, and He knows we can do all the He asks us to do. Who knows us better than our Creator? He knows our weaknesses, for sure, but also knows of what we are capable.
He would not ask us to be holy if there was not something within us that would allow us to seek this lofty goal. He would not call us to be perfect and complete if He did not believe this is something are innermost Soul yearns for.
God chose from among us a man with whom He was well pleased; one who did all that God asked him to do, and did so perfectly. This man, Jesus, was anointed and chosen by God to be our template, example, and guide in all things.
The core of the message Jesus preached was to pursue moral completeness in all of our interactions, be they with our fellow human beings, or with God, our Father and Creator.
Jesus, this chosen, God-anointed man, said that we may do all that he did, and even greater things. He taught us through parables and sayings that we have a choice to follow Godliness or to reject it, and that God alone would judge those who chose to seek the opposite path.
We can have the Knowledge of what is Good through the example of Jesus. We also can know that we may accomplish all that God asks of us, because Jesus, our elder brother, has done it.
God has not asked us to do the impossible. He did not set us up for failure, He isn't mocking us, nor is Jesus in his teachings to us. And there is no fault in our Nature preventing us from seeking the Godliness Jesus calls us to seek after.
Whatever past acts on our part that may have dulled our sense of Good, and damaged our God-given ability to do what is right, Jesus gives no indication that we cannot change the course of our lives with our future actions.
Indeed, Jesus confidently declares that we may yet deny ourselves, take up our crosses, and follow him. Those who follow his teachings are his friends, and he lived, preached, taught, and died as an example for his friends. To his friends, he revealed all that God taught him, and from him, we have all the Knowledge we need to please God.
When we repent of our past misdeeds, and then accept the message Jesus alone can teach us, Our past ignorance of the Goodness God wishes us to pursue melts away. When we commit to following that path of Goodness, we begin to make our friendship with Jesus into something morally complete, Good and tangible.
This path of Goodness consists of serving others. We are called to love one another, but not just love, love backed by service. We are called explicitly to feed the hungry, clothe the naked, comfort those in need of comfort, visit prisoners, and by doing so, we are a light and example to the world.
This is the Gospel message, and no other: to serve and love one another, and by doing this, we serve, love and honor God.
When we gain Knowledge of this Gospel, we are challenged by Jesus to live it. By living it, we begin to establish God's Kingdom here on the earth.
Let's commit to taking this precious Knowledge of the Gospel and make it real in our lives!
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