As I have mentioned in previous postings, I consider myself to be an Ecumenical Christian. I am a follower of Jesus the Christ – which makes me a Christian – and I also search and seek for the good, the true and the beautiful in all faith and humanistic traditions – which makes me an Ecumenist. I am also a member of what is known as ‘The People of the Book’ – Jews, Christians, and Muslims. We – ‘The People of the Book’ – have been gifted by Yahweh-God-Allah with Ten Commandments.
For the past 53 years one of the most powerful ‘books’ for me has been – continues to be – the Gospel of Matthew. Recently I began to re-read and re-reflect upon Matthew’s Gospel. Early on, Jesus gifts us with the Beatitudes and shortly after giving us this gift he gifts us with his ‘Five Commandments.’ The Beatitudes and the ‘Five Commandments’ call us not to shift or change but to transform. These are so challenging and disturbing for those of us who espouse to be Christians that we have spent – we continue to spend – a great deal of energy re-interpreting Jesus’ words. ‘He surely couldn’t mean what he says; how absurd.’ Since I have been re-reflecting upon Jesus’ ‘Five Commandments’ I thought I would share some of my reflections with you, gentle reader.
Consider that each of us has a reason and a conscience that come to us from somewhere: we did not ‘make them up’ ourselves. These twins – reason and conscience – oblige us to differentiate between good and evil (or, if you will, virtue and vice or light and darkness); you and I must approve of some things and disapprove of others. This obligation (or ‘ought’ or ‘must’) is one of the common grounds upon which we all walk; we are all members of the same family and we are all daughters and sons of the same God (Note: For me, ‘God’ is all and is therefore both male and female – if God were only ‘male’ then God would not be all and hence God would not be God).
Residing in each of us is a higher or better nature – a spiritual and divine nature. As Lincoln noted in 1860, there resides within each of us ‘the better angels of our nature’ and it is our charge to call upon these especially during times of challenge and adversity. Because we are endowed with a higher nature we can, if we open our hearts and minds discern good from evil (or virtue from vice or light from darkness); we can monitor our own choices and our own conduct.
My hunch is that most of us human beings know that our purpose here on earth is to serve others rooted in our higher nature; we are to call forth the ‘better angels’ as we live our life. Jesus identifies himself with his higher nature (consider that if Jesus were truly fully human then he, too, would have a ‘lower’ nature – perhaps this is the nature that tempted him three times). Jesus speaks of himself and of us as ‘Sons of the Father’ and bids us to be perfect as ‘our Father’ in heaven is perfect.
Perhaps this is the answer to the question: ‘What is the meaning and purpose of my life?’ There is a ‘Power’ enabling me (and you) to discern what is good – my reason and conscience flow from it and the purpose of my conscious life is to do its will – that is, to do good. What is the ‘good’ I am called to do? Jesus provides us an answer when he gifts us with the Beatitudes and when he gifts us with his ‘Five Commandments.’
What are Jesus’ ‘Five Commandments’?
Searcher-Seeker 
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