Blog # 156 Life "in Christ'.

Blog # 156 Life "in Christ". What did Jesus come to do for,with,in us who are Baptized? Jesus came that we may have life,life here on earth and life to come. Other prophets and teachers were raised up and sent by God to tell us how to live happily here on earth as good and happy men and women. Jesus was not just another of these. Jesus stands alone as God's own Son, divine as well as one of us, a bridge between Heaven and earth, telling and showing us in His own experience of the two lives rather than one to which we are called. The first life, our natural life, is experienced by all people who ever live. The second, our supernatural life,is given to those who believe. No matter where we start in the process, we can grow in our awareness,appreciation, understanding and enrichment of our experience of the truth of the 'reason' Jesus had in coming. In the second birth of Baptism we become children of God, sharing in Jesus His very own divine experience, rooted in earth, discovered on earth, and fulfilled in Heaven. Our second birth is built upon our first natural human birth. There is a connection between the two. It is similar to the connection between the twofold identity of a person who is officially identified with an MD degree. We bring with us to medical school our genetic code, our talent bank, our particular personality. As Jesus reminded us: good fruit comes from good trees. Better fruit comes from better trees. It follows that the more perfect we are as persons here and now, in our natural lives, the more perfect we can be as children of God, here and hereafter. In conjunction with God's will for us, in developing our natural human talents, in safeguarding and promoting our human good health, and in reaching out for new growth in experience and learning we are not in competition with God's desire that we grow in holiness. Rather in the complete picture we can be preparng the soil for Jesus to find in us a more effective tool, witness,and messenger of His personal love for us and through us His love for those around us and for that very small portion of creation we may have been accustomed to call our own.