Genesis 1:27
Man and Woman are Made in the Image of God
27 So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.
John 4:24
God is Spirit
24 God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth.
Matthew 5:1-48
Introduction to the Sermon on the Mount
1 Now when Jesus saw the crowds, he went up on a mountainside and sat down. His disciples came to him, 2 and he began to teach them.
He said:
3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
4 Blessed are those who mourn,
for they will be comforted.
5 Blessed are the meek,
for they will inherit the earth.
6 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
for they will be filled.
7 Blessed are the merciful,
for they will be shown mercy.
8 Blessed are the pure in heart,
for they will see God.
9 Blessed are the peacemakers,
for they will be called children of God.
10 Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
11 “Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. 12 Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
13 “You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot.
14 “You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. 16 In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.
17 “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. 18 For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished.19 Therefore anyone who sets aside one of the least of these commands and teaches others accordingly will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. 20 For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven.
21 “You have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘You shall not murder, and anyone who murders will be subject to judgment.’ 22 But I tell you that anyone who is angry with a brother or sister will be subject to judgment. Again, anyone who says to a brother or sister, ‘Raca,’ is answerable to the court. And anyone who says, ‘You fool!’ will be in danger of the fire of hell.
23 “Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother or sister has something against you, 24 leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to them; then come and offer your gift.
25 “Settle matters quickly with your adversary who is taking you to court. Do it while you are still together on the way, or your adversary may hand you over to the judge, and the judge may hand you over to the officer, and you may be thrown into prison. 26 Truly I tell you, you will not get out until you have paid the last penny.
27 “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ 28 But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart. 29 If your right eye causes you to stumble, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. 30 And if your right hand causes you to stumble, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to go into hell.
31 “It has been said, ‘Anyone who divorces his wife must give her a certificate of divorce.’ 32 But I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, makes her the victim of adultery, and anyone who marries a divorced woman commits adultery.
33 “Again, you have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘Do not break your oath, but fulfill to the Lord the vows you have made.’ 34 But I tell you, do not swear an oath at all: either by heaven, for it is God’s throne; 35 or by the earth, for it is his footstool; or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the Great King. 36 And do not swear by your head, for you cannot make even one hair white or black. 37 All you need to say is simply ‘Yes’ or ‘No’; anything beyond this comes from the evil one.
38 “You have heard that it was said, ‘Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth.’ 39 But I tell you, do not resist an evil person. If anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to them the other cheek also. 40 And if anyone wants to sue you and take your shirt, hand over your coat as well. 41 If anyone forces you to go one mile, go with them two miles. 42 Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you.
43 “You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ 44 But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 45 that you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. 46 If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? 47 And if you greet only your own people, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that? 48 Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.
1 Corinthians 13:1-13
St. Paul Writing About LOVE
1 If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. 2 If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. 3 If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing.
4 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5 It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
8 Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. 9 For we know in part and we prophesy in part,10 but when completeness comes, what is in part disappears. 11 When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put the ways of childhood behind me. 12 For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.
13 And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.
Luke 9:58
Jesus Had No Home
58 Jesus replied, “Foxes have dens and birds have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head.”
Pleasure and happiness are nice to experience in life, but not the only nice things we experience as we go through life...The Spiritual things we encounter in life need to be reflected on and are important...Jesus was always teaching about the Spiritual things in life...Jesus teaches us the eternities...His Sermon on the Mount is full of Spiritual lessons...So let us learn from His teachings...
I believe that man is Spiritual and a Spiritual creature because God created us and God is Spirit...And since He made us this Spiritual creature, we want more things than just happiness and pleasure and to fulfil our desires...We too, because we are Spiritual search for Spirit and the Truth in our lives...
We want intangible things like faith, hope, and love to live a fulfilled life...We want to have hope, to have dreams, to have a feeling of accomplishment through the things we do and do well...And these experiences are more than our personal desires, our personal pleasures, and our personal happiness...And it is not that our desires, our pleasures, and our happiness are bad things because they are not...They are maybe subsets of how we lead our Spiritual Life...Jesus teaches us that we are the salt and life of earth and our deeds and acts should show others how and why we follow God...So His followers are the light of the world....A town built on a hill cannot be hidden, the lights are too bright...Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl...Then no one can see the light...Instead we must put our beliefs out there for people to see, and when seen this gives light to everyone not only in the house, but to everyone in the world...In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven...
So when we read about Jesus' first Sermon, the Sermon on the Mount we see the direction that His ministry is going to take...We see that desire, pleasure, and happiness are omitted...Jesus shows and gives us a complete focus on God, why and how we should help others, and even to love our enemies, among many other teachings in his first Sermon...He taught that being poor in spirit was being blessed, and that the search for righteousness was also something very important...And when we read about an eye for an eye we see forgiveness and how He weaves forgiveness and mercy and His Father throughout this Sermon and His teachings...We read the meek people will inherit the earth...So as we read through this Sermon where is happiness, pleasures, and us filling our personal desires?...
And when Jesus came to dwell on the earth, He was not in a constant state of happiness, looking for His next desire or pleasure, He was all about traveling around and teaching others about God...He did not even has a place to stay...Foxes have dens and birds have nests, but Jesus had no place to lay his head at night...That doesn't seem pleasurable or a happy thing to do to me...And when He came to earth He came for sinners, which tells us that earth had a universal problem with sin and that He came to help us with our problems and our sins...
So when I try to compare my desires, pleasures, and happiness's to other things, I better can put these things into perspective...I also better understand why St. Paul writes about love and then tells us that these are the three great virtues of life...Faith, hope, and love really are the great virtues, and the greatest of these are love...And I understand this better after reading these teachings of Jesus and the gospels...