My Favorite Verses - Vol III (Aug 16 to Nov 16)

Luke 2:10 … To bring the Good News
(10/19/2016)
“Do not be afraid … for I am bringing Good News
of great Joy for everyone.” ~ Jesus (Luke 2:10)
Often read as a simple admonishment from Jesus (i.e. him essentially telling
folks to cheer up because he had come to save them from their trials and troubles),
this verse actually reflects several far deeper meanings …
First of all, the “Good News” that Jesus came to bring was not what Paul
thought it was (namely, that Jesus is the only Son of God and that worshipping him as
such would guarantee said believers an everlasting spiritual life after their physical death
– see 1 Corinthians 15:1-4 & Romans 10:9 et al) … No, the “Good News” as far as
Jesus was concerned was twofold: A) that the perfect Bliss of the “Kingdom of
Heaven” is available to everyone in every moment of their conscious lives (see
Matthew 10:7), and B) that the way to experience this Present-Moment Paradise
was via purposeful acts of self-sacrificial Kindness (see Matthew 24:12-14) --
especially in those "down times" when we least feel like doing so, and especially
towards strangers & enemies who seem "least deserving" of the same (see Matthew
5:40-48 & Luke 10:29-37).
Second, Jesus also points out
in this verse that we cannot access
his version of Salvation while we
are afraid for our own well-being;
indeed that it is psychologically
impossible to simultaneously fear
for ourselves and Care for others
– that the two are mutually
exclusive and cannot coexist at all
– that we must always choose one
or the other in every moment of
our lives. And this, my dear
Friends, provides at least one
meaningful explanation as to why
Jesus so often admonished others
to “fear not” -- for we cannot
know Bliss unless we choose to
exude real LOVE, and we cannot
exude real LOVE while choosing
to succumb to fear instead.
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