Differences

This shows you the differences between two versions of the page.

--- jn_en_2020_02_03 [2020/02/03 08:36] – potthast
+++ jn_en_2020_02_03 [2020/02/03 09:24] (current) – potthast
@@ Line 25: / Line 25: @@
 {{2020:2020_02_03.jpg }}
-**  ... **
+** The role of Law, Freedom, Economy, Love ... **
+What are the important ingredients of our social framework?  We could name very different
+topics here. As a society as well as individuals, we need law and order in the first place,
+to be able to live together in peace. When you are in a civil war, or when the chaos of
+self-justice and violence is governing daily life, there is no way to a really prosperous
+society, and there is no way to a really sustainable development for families and individuals.
+What is the role of freedom? Personal freedom is an important ingredient. Is it over-estimated
+in its importance? Humans have lived in states without freedom in so many parts of history.
+Today freedom is a difficult topic in many states. Freedom of religion is not really there in
+important regions of this world today.
+What is the role of the economy of a society. We all need to eat and we need clothing and shelter.
+We all want to be a part of the economic development of the world, want to have access to medical
+care, to technology, to transport. We all want to live well and use the inventions of the modern
+era. The economic system we live in is important. And the laws of our environment, including
+the protection of workers, the protection of property, the protection of ideas, are major themes
+and topics of a modern society.
+What is the role of love, appreciation and respect in social interaction. Today, major topics
+of the public discussion include gay marriage and gender issues. We fight for the equal
+relationship of men and women, equality of all sexes, and equality of women in the working
+environment. This takes place in a social framework where work and leisure is important, where
+we have a sophisticated industry of entertainment. The public setup for the job market in Germany,
+for example, allows
+maternity leave for women and parental leave of month to even years for mothers or fathers,
+keeping their job save during this time.
 {{ 2020:2020_02_03_2.jpg}}
-**  ... **
+** Jesus on Love ... **
+Is love a topic which is talking about the relationship of a man and women only, more general
+between two partners? Is it a topic which is talking about the relationship between a mother
+and a child, or parents and an infant only?
+There are important sermons of Jesus on the role of love for our life. More general, love is an
+important topic of both the Old and New Testament. Love is a major topic, since God is said
+to be love. He is said to consist of love, to be love himself. That is one of the reasons
+why God is holy, since his love is pure love of a kind which is beyond what we usually know
+and experience.
+When you get into contact with God, his love will change your life. That is an important message
+which the apostles, and Jesus himself, is communicating. When you get to know God, you cannot
+stay what you have been before. He is different. He is just. He is honest. He is reliable.
+And he loves you and me and every single human on the planet. He wants us. He values us highly.
+He cares for us.
+Jesus is addressing this topic of love in his sermon on the mount, which we find in different
+forms in the New Testament. In the gospel of Luke, Jesus word about "love your enemy"
+is expressed in the following form:
 <color #aa0000>
@@ Line 40: / Line 83: @@
 </color> (Luke 6, 27-28)
+With these words, Jesus is touching the very heart of our social framework. He is touching the
+very heart of our personal motivation. He is addressing our feelings, our will, our thoughts. He
+is changing the relationship of each and everyone.
+To love my enemy is not easy. It is not something I could just hear and do immediately. It is
+not something which would come quickly. It is a path, a direction, a major agenda for my life.
+It is an idea, which might be far from my heart and my mind. Yet, if I start to listen, if
+I start to change myself .... if I follow Jesus in this important basic topic, I will realize
+that he changes my whole life, the very framework of my existence. Jesus wants me to play
+a different game - not the game of superiority and fight, but the game of love and truth and
+mercy. This is a fantastic path, challenging and majestic at the same time ...
 (Roland Potthast)