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--- jn_en_2019_05_09 [2019/05/09 07:29] – created potthast
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 ====== The Center ... ======
-Thursday, May 9, 2019.
+Thursday, May 9, 2019. Christian faith is about God, we all know that. But what is the role of God for
+us? What exactly does faith mean?
+Some people think that faith is mainly a set of ethical rules. Others believe it has been invented to
+deal with the fear of people, the fear of death. And indeed, it talks about eternity and about life.
+Commandments are involved in faith - people are told which type of behaviour is good and which type
+is not good. But still behaviour is not the first layer of faith, not its core or center.
+What is the role of Christ Jesus? And why did he have to die at the cross of Calvary?
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 ** Lost ... **
+What is the key point of faith, and why is it important? Let us look at a story from the gospel
+of Marc. Jesus talks about what faith is, and what it is not:
 <color #aa0000>
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 </color>(from Marc 10)
+The world is full of people who have good will. We see it everywhere. Humans have the ability to
+act in a moral way, and ethical rules are important part of social life. We cannot do without it and any
+society, where too many people do not stick to ethical behaviour, will destroy itself. But is that already
+faith? Is it a core part of faith? Our story tells us that it is not the core part. Yes, Jesus agrees
+with the ethical behaviour of the guy in this story. He even loves him, since he is putting a lot of
+effort into good behaviour. But it is not the main point!
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 ** Why??? ... **
+So what IS the main point? Is it that we have to sell all we have, otherwise we cannot be saved? That
+is also not the most important point. It was just the most important point of this particular guy. To him,
+his possessions were his God. They stood in the center of his life. Yes, he was ethical. But he still
+violated the first commandment: do not have another God besides me! The most important part he missed,
+and he was lost ...
+Why is it so important to have God as our God? Why is ethical behaviour less central, even if it is
+still important. You can be very "good" in this ethical sense and still miss God completely!
+So why? It is a matter of reality. God IS the center of creation. He was, before our time. He is beyond
+our time. He will be, after our time. Eternity is his being beyond time. If we miss him, we miss
+everything. We can live our life without him on this earth. We are given our years, how many that
+may ever be. But without him and his justice, we cannot enter his eternity. It is just impossible.
+In freedom we are asked to choose.
 (Roland Potthast)
 [[http://www.jesusnetwork.eu/en/topics_collection_ix|... further texts]]