Jesus is the Original Hippie

Photo Source: Astrogems

I like something my friend said about Jesus: that he was a rule breaker; he hung out with crooks and prostitutes and gypsy souls and everyday people; he preached peace, love, and happiness, but he also stood up for what he believed in; he wasn't impressed with titles and outward appearances and he wasn't bent on impressing people; he made a lot of enemies, but he made a lot of friends too. He was a real rebel with a cause. What was central for him was love. Faith and love. 

That's all he asks of us. It's that simple, really. There's no beating down heaven's door with good works and moral striving. There's no trying to please God by following rules and traditions and being the best spiritual person because he's already pleased. We can have our scars and our pain and our anger - it makes no difference to him. He sees the divinity within us. 

There is no, "As long as God is pleased," or "As long as you're making God happy." There's no freedom in that and God provides spiritual freedom through love. 

That's what I struggled with for so long. Am I doing it right? Am I pleasing God? 

"My ego is no longer central. It is no longer important that I appear righteous before you or have your good opinion, and I am no longer driven to impress God. Christ lives in me. The life you see me living is not 'mine' but it is lived by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me." Galatians 2: 19-21

"For in Christ, neither our most conscientious religion nor disregard of religion amount to anything. What matters is something far more interior: faith expressed in love." Galatians 5: 6

As it's been said before, love is all there is. We only have to show up and love. 

And I love these beautiful words from Paul at the end of Galatians:

♥ Live creatively, friends.

♥ Stoop down and reach out to those who are oppressed.

♥ Make a careful exploration of who you are and the work you have been given, and then sink yourself into that. 

♥ Each of you must take responsibility for doing the creative best you can with your own life.

♥ I have been crucified in relation to the world, set free from the stifling atmosphere of pleasing others and fitting into the little patterns that they dictate...It is not what you and I do. It is what God is doing, and he is creating something totally new, a free life!

Live free, live creatively, live love.