6:1 God is understanding and God is forgiving but we should never take this for granted. We can't have the attitude that no matter what we do, no matter what harm we inflict on another, we will be forgiven for it. God forgives us when we atone, when we feel wholeheartedly regretful for our mistakes.
6:2 We should be inspired by our opportunity to awaken, to reestablish ourselves. Rather than continue to fester in disorder, we should be grateful for our opportunity to leave it. We should never use anyone's forgiveness as a second chance to do wrong again.
6:3-4 This philosophy God brought to the world has given us new life, new breath in our lungs. A new and more pure way of living: with and through compassion and wisdom. The life of injustice and chaos has been replaced, buried. Why would we work to resurface it?
6:5-6 Jesus' life was symbolic of our own: that through compassionate living, we could break the chains of anger, impatience, greed, injustice and trade them for freedom and life. Freedom to love and value others as well as ourselves. Freedom to not be condemned or victimized by the inaction and ill-action of others.
His life gave us the courage and inspiration to release ourselves from a slumber of purposelessness; no longer able to be manipulated and conditioned by this world's inclination to procure wealth and power. He gives us the wisdom to see the value of life and then supplies us the tools to uphold it.
6:7 When you reject the corruptions of this world, you come alive in the purity of the spirit.
6:8 Jesus' death on earth was representative of the official rejection of the expressions and characteristics which lead to death: greed, arrogance, vengeance, impatience, intolerance. If we understand that these things have been thrown out, we can also understand that the expressions and characteristics which lead to life: compassion, justice, wisdom and truth, have been officially instated.
6:9 Upholding these is now the purpose of our lives, the path which leads to life. Life different from the life we know here on earth. This life is infinite, untarnished, unchallenged.
6:10 Jesus came to establish that death was the end result of greed and injustice and life was the result of humility and justice. (You can either understand this literally or metaphorically but the upshot is the same: compassion is the order of this life.)
6:11 Paul encourages the recipients of his letter to do the same, officially reestablish themselves in life. Spiritual, infinite life, reached through humility and purpose.
6:12 As humans, we are all familiar with the emotions inside of us that cause us to express. Paul encourages us to not become slaves to our emotions. God wants us to be strong: of heart and mind, able to rise above our weaknesses and to always be just, humble and kind. Able to walk about from bad situations and people without succumbing to their chaos.
6:13-14 By God and His philosophy, we are given purpose: we are offered the opportunity to be an instrument through which His love and compassion and wisdom can come into the world. He can send, directly though us, so many blessings.
Conversely, when we are chaotic and purposeless on the earth, we become instruments of chaos and purposelessness. With wisdom and purpose from God, you can accomplish so much within yourself and within your world.
6:3-4 This philosophy God brought to the world has given us new life, new breath in our lungs. A new and more pure way of living: with and through compassion and wisdom. The life of injustice and chaos has been replaced, buried. Why would we work to resurface it?
6:5-6 Jesus' life was symbolic of our own: that through compassionate living, we could break the chains of anger, impatience, greed, injustice and trade them for freedom and life. Freedom to love and value others as well as ourselves. Freedom to not be condemned or victimized by the inaction and ill-action of others.
His life gave us the courage and inspiration to release ourselves from a slumber of purposelessness; no longer able to be manipulated and conditioned by this world's inclination to procure wealth and power. He gives us the wisdom to see the value of life and then supplies us the tools to uphold it.
6:7 When you reject the corruptions of this world, you come alive in the purity of the spirit.
6:8 Jesus' death on earth was representative of the official rejection of the expressions and characteristics which lead to death: greed, arrogance, vengeance, impatience, intolerance. If we understand that these things have been thrown out, we can also understand that the expressions and characteristics which lead to life: compassion, justice, wisdom and truth, have been officially instated.
6:9 Upholding these is now the purpose of our lives, the path which leads to life. Life different from the life we know here on earth. This life is infinite, untarnished, unchallenged.
6:10 Jesus came to establish that death was the end result of greed and injustice and life was the result of humility and justice. (You can either understand this literally or metaphorically but the upshot is the same: compassion is the order of this life.)
6:11 Paul encourages the recipients of his letter to do the same, officially reestablish themselves in life. Spiritual, infinite life, reached through humility and purpose.
6:12 As humans, we are all familiar with the emotions inside of us that cause us to express. Paul encourages us to not become slaves to our emotions. God wants us to be strong: of heart and mind, able to rise above our weaknesses and to always be just, humble and kind. Able to walk about from bad situations and people without succumbing to their chaos.
6:13-14 By God and His philosophy, we are given purpose: we are offered the opportunity to be an instrument through which His love and compassion and wisdom can come into the world. He can send, directly though us, so many blessings.
Conversely, when we are chaotic and purposeless on the earth, we become instruments of chaos and purposelessness. With wisdom and purpose from God, you can accomplish so much within yourself and within your world.
6:15 This verse asks: should we abuse our freedom? Of course not. We are on earth to create ourselves, to make decisions and establish our values and within the freedom to do so, we should appreciate the chance.
6:16 I love that we are taught to think with perspective, the stepping stone of all personal growth. God wants us to understand that how we behave and life is representative of what or who we serve. How we act is representative of the values in which we are firmly cemented. What we think and do is representative of what controls us.
You do not want to represent or be controlled by injustice, greed, deception or untruth. You do not want to be controlled by your worst emotions or thoughts. If our minds are our masters, let God awaken and reestablish your mind. Be representative of your best, of justice and patience.
6:17-18 Paul explains that we should be grateful for God's gift to us: our ability to be perceptive, compassionate and wise. Our ability to choose our own master: our spiritually-informed minds, if we are wise. Instead of being stuck in impatience, greed, and chaos, we are given the chance to see and appreciate the value in their opposites: patience, humility, order.
6:19 Our bodies are weak in that they are often temperamental, manipulable, selfish, anxious... capable of a whole host of emotions and demeanor. We needed to be given a mind wise enough to supersede those emotions, to rise and survey with perception, wisdom, patience, and compassion. But wisdom abounds if we feed it, and therefore we must work hard to supply the sustenance: practicing focus, purpose, compassion, perspective, empathy in every moment. God gave us these capable minds.
6:20 Even when we are unfocused, unkind and impatient, freedom in righteousness if offered to us for free. We are constantly offered the opportunity to be and do better than we have been. It's a choice not a command, we are allowed to be whoever we want to be.
6:21 If you haven't already, you'll find that the portion of your life lived without purpose, patience, humility, faith and compassion were wasted, not having earned you or anyone else anything. The "fruits" of our labors are the products of what our actions and thoughts produce. When we are unfocused and unkind, our only fruit is death: we disallow the life of compassion, opportunity, inspiration, kindness, justice to die.
We think of death as finality after our lives here. Yet when are not actively, consistently purposeful in compassion, we allow or even promote death in many other ways. We thwart goodness by inaction or ill-action. Death to what goodness could have been had we been more focused in compassion. Our opportunity to be instruments is now and is imperative. Which master will you serve? A healthy, spiritual mind or a chaotic, selfish one?
6:22 When we work with God, we immediately begin bearing "fruit." The kindness within how we live transforms the lives of those around us and subsequently, the world we live in. When we live with focus and compassion, we are ready and able to promote, inspire and uphold justice and truth. Our minds are open to constant betterment: evolving in wisdom and spirituality.
6:23 What you derive from this experience on earth is your choice. Productivity in kindness is the path toward life. You can only inherit pure, infinite life if you can withstand its refining heat. A fish cannot swim in the air. You must be equip to live in a place of pure compassion in order to survive it. Prepare yourself here to be fully adapted there.
There is no place for injustice or greed after earth. To become proponents of those things is to choose to be extinguished: a person simply would not be adapted to the live that follows and therefore could not possibly survive.
Think of our lives on earth as a tree we must scale. The leaves are our final destination: a canopy on which to bask in the sun. If we do not adapt and learn to climb the tree, we remain at its base. Not as a punishment but instead as a result of our inaction, our lethargy. Or perhaps we climb a little and rest on a branch: we always have further still to go on earth. We can always be better, more productive, more patient. Bask now in this life of instruction, this scaling of the tree, in order to bask in light and fulfillment later.
6:16 I love that we are taught to think with perspective, the stepping stone of all personal growth. God wants us to understand that how we behave and life is representative of what or who we serve. How we act is representative of the values in which we are firmly cemented. What we think and do is representative of what controls us.
You do not want to represent or be controlled by injustice, greed, deception or untruth. You do not want to be controlled by your worst emotions or thoughts. If our minds are our masters, let God awaken and reestablish your mind. Be representative of your best, of justice and patience.
6:17-18 Paul explains that we should be grateful for God's gift to us: our ability to be perceptive, compassionate and wise. Our ability to choose our own master: our spiritually-informed minds, if we are wise. Instead of being stuck in impatience, greed, and chaos, we are given the chance to see and appreciate the value in their opposites: patience, humility, order.
6:19 Our bodies are weak in that they are often temperamental, manipulable, selfish, anxious... capable of a whole host of emotions and demeanor. We needed to be given a mind wise enough to supersede those emotions, to rise and survey with perception, wisdom, patience, and compassion. But wisdom abounds if we feed it, and therefore we must work hard to supply the sustenance: practicing focus, purpose, compassion, perspective, empathy in every moment. God gave us these capable minds.
6:20 Even when we are unfocused, unkind and impatient, freedom in righteousness if offered to us for free. We are constantly offered the opportunity to be and do better than we have been. It's a choice not a command, we are allowed to be whoever we want to be.
6:21 If you haven't already, you'll find that the portion of your life lived without purpose, patience, humility, faith and compassion were wasted, not having earned you or anyone else anything. The "fruits" of our labors are the products of what our actions and thoughts produce. When we are unfocused and unkind, our only fruit is death: we disallow the life of compassion, opportunity, inspiration, kindness, justice to die.
We think of death as finality after our lives here. Yet when are not actively, consistently purposeful in compassion, we allow or even promote death in many other ways. We thwart goodness by inaction or ill-action. Death to what goodness could have been had we been more focused in compassion. Our opportunity to be instruments is now and is imperative. Which master will you serve? A healthy, spiritual mind or a chaotic, selfish one?
6:22 When we work with God, we immediately begin bearing "fruit." The kindness within how we live transforms the lives of those around us and subsequently, the world we live in. When we live with focus and compassion, we are ready and able to promote, inspire and uphold justice and truth. Our minds are open to constant betterment: evolving in wisdom and spirituality.
6:23 What you derive from this experience on earth is your choice. Productivity in kindness is the path toward life. You can only inherit pure, infinite life if you can withstand its refining heat. A fish cannot swim in the air. You must be equip to live in a place of pure compassion in order to survive it. Prepare yourself here to be fully adapted there.
There is no place for injustice or greed after earth. To become proponents of those things is to choose to be extinguished: a person simply would not be adapted to the live that follows and therefore could not possibly survive.
Think of our lives on earth as a tree we must scale. The leaves are our final destination: a canopy on which to bask in the sun. If we do not adapt and learn to climb the tree, we remain at its base. Not as a punishment but instead as a result of our inaction, our lethargy. Or perhaps we climb a little and rest on a branch: we always have further still to go on earth. We can always be better, more productive, more patient. Bask now in this life of instruction, this scaling of the tree, in order to bask in light and fulfillment later.
