The Suffering, Death And Resurrection Of Jesus Christ
The Suffering, Death And Resurrection Of Jesus Christ
In this part of my coursework, I will attempt to show how Jesus' example of self-sacrifice, suffering, death and resurrection is still important to Christians today, and should be included in every good Christians life.
Firstly, when I say '...self-sacrifice, suffering, death and resurrection...included in every good Christians life...' I don't mean that every Christian should run in front of a train to prove their belief in God, no, I merely meant that, for instance, if there is a charity money collection going around, you should put that little bit of money you reserved for, say, a chocolate bar, in instead of spending it on something you can easily go on with without. This is what I believe all Christians can do, and, if they did, it would make the world a generally better place, immediately showing that even the smallest example of self-sacrifice can prove to be a very Christian thing to do.
If one was to look in the Bible and read through the entire book of Mark, one would see that there are dozens upon dozens of examples and teachings from Jesus showing the need and use of self-sacrifice. The most prominent and best examples are:
* Mark 10: 17-22 (The Rich Man), In which a rich man runs up to Jesus and says that he has followed his preaching since he was very small. He then asks Jesus what can he do extra to make sure that he is doing the right thing to get to heaven. Jesus then replies that he is to sell practically all of his possessions and give the money to the poor so that they can have food and water. This, however makes the rich man sad as he has worked all his life for his riches, yet he, like a good Christian, does exactly as Jesus says. After, Jesus shows that it may be hard for a rich man to go to heaven, but, with faith in God and a little self-sacrifice, it is possible.
* Then, in Mark 10: 35-45 (The Request Of James And John) in which Jesus says that to go to heaven and be at his right and left hands, you must '...be a servant to the rest...' which means that you must put others in front of you, no matter who they are.
* Finally, in Mark 12: 41-44 (The Widows Offering) Jesus is a temple and, to please him, rich men came and gave many riches and jewels, yet, when a poor widow came along and dropped in a few pennies, Jesus showed his disciples that ...
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* Then, in Mark 10: 35-45 (The Request Of James And John) in which Jesus says that to go to heaven and be at his right and left hands, you must '...be a servant to the rest...' which means that you must put others in front of you, no matter who they are.
* Finally, in Mark 12: 41-44 (The Widows Offering) Jesus is a temple and, to please him, rich men came and gave many riches and jewels, yet, when a poor widow came along and dropped in a few pennies, Jesus showed his disciples that this woman had given a greater amount than anyone else, as she gave everything that she had, wutherise the rich men gave what they had spare. This story, in my opinion, shows the ultimate example of self-sacrifice, as she gave all that she could, without putting herself ahead of others, unlike the rich men to whom the money they offered was but a measly amount.
These each show clearly what self-sacrifice is and, as all Christians know, we should strive to follow what Jesus did and, thusly, we should follow his teachings in the Bible.
And now on to what self-sacrifice should mean to us today. What does it mean? Well, it could mean many things, however, they mostly fall into these categories: A willingness to place / think of others (even those who one doesn't like) in front of oneself. Being ready to consider the feelings of others before oneself. The general giving of your time and effort to others (even those who one doesn't like). Extreme cases may mean sacrificing ones life for what you believe should be (even for those who one doesn't like).
Firstly, the meaning of 'A willingness to place/think of others in front of oneself' does not mean that we should constantly ask people for their opinion or what they want as, in the end, people would take advantage of one and other. No, what it means is that, for instance, if you are in a seat on the bus and an elderly person gets on, you should offer to give up your seat for them. This is what I mean. I mean that you should, if and whenever you can, give up something, especially the little things, to those who need them more than you do, especially if they are not as lucky or advantageous as you are. Why ? Because without putting other people in front of yourself, you are being selfish and you will be disliked, and, if everyone did this, anyone dependant on others, such as OAPs and disabled people, would become even more unhealthy and eventually die.
Secondly, the meaning of 'Being ready to consider the feelings of others before oneself' does not mean that you should, as above, constantly think about what the other person want, no, should you ask them what they feel about you doing something out of the ordinary or strange, maybe, should you ask people for their opinion on a subject that would affect them and many others, definitely. What I mean by this is that you should not worry constantly about what others think of you, lets say, dying your hair green, yet you should worry about what they think if you were to, say, change the policy on taxes or maybe put a sewage plant in their local area. Why ? Because without this, people would do whatever they liked and, therefore, there would not be any order, which leads to chaos, which leads to the breaking of some of the ten commandments.
Lastly, the meaning of 'The general giving of your time and effort to others' does not mean that you should constantly give up your time to help people and be an all around dogs body, but instead it means that you should help those who are either in great need, such as OAPs and disabled persons, or people who can not possibly do what they want to with one person, such as mechanical work, even if it is just passing a spanner or wrench, so as to help in the little ways when and wherever you can, instead of just walking on by, ignoring the pleas of those who really need your help. And, when you have done what was asked of you, do not expect a reward, you can accept one if it is given to you, but, on the whole, if it is too much hassle for the person to get or give you a reward, if they give you too big a reward for such a simple chore for example, it would be considered more Christian if one was just to say that there was no need for a reward, as helping others is its own reward. Why do this ? Because, truthfully, it makes you feel better and, in general, when and if you are put in their situation, would not you wish to be helped ? I think you would.
So, to conclude, self sacrifice can be in many forms and in many different difficulties, yet, even the least enthusiastic Christian is fully capable of helping one and other, be it holding a ladder for someone for a couple of minutes, or just asking someone if they think what you are to do is sensible beforehand, we should be ready to give up some of our time and/or effort for others as, when we are in the same situation, we would want them to help, and by doing this, we are nearing Jesus dream of a perfect world of peace on Earth.
