Q: Do Jesus stories have any purpose or use other than for entertainment?
A: Yes, they do.
The world needs to see men and women living their lives as Jesus lived his. That means living in constant companionship with God as friend and consultant on life. It also means to live life to help others succeed with their life challenges – mental, spiritual, physical, emotional, and even material and financial challenges.
The Jesus stories show how Jesus applied his spirit leadings to be of primarily spiritual service to his fellows. It is not that we should imitate every detail of his behavior as though it is a formula for success which must be followed precisely. But Jesus’ behavior is an example of what living like Jesus could look like and a way for us to test whether living as he did is practical or realistic in our time and our lives.
I think the stories and our heartfelt affirmative response to them prove that his way of living is currently valid, effective and transformative. The stories repeatedly show how to return good for evil, how to treat all sorts of people with love and respect, how to be loyal to your values and courageous without being foolhardy.
Jesus stories are examples of real experiences where loving behavior demonstrated its considerable power to change attitudes and their physical consequences by positive impact on our emotions. It works. The stories prove it. We can never again dismiss the patterns of behavior advocated by Jesus as impractical.
LOVE IN ALL ACTIONS and THOUGHTS
Peace unto you. William Cooper
