Worthy Readings : Being and Doing

"It is hard to know what else Jesus could have said to have made his point more clear. Let us restate it one more time: according to Jesus, there is not authentic Christianity, discipleship or Christian ethics apart from DOING the deeds he taught his followers to do. A fuller summary, influenced in part by a careful reading of the Great Commission would be this: the "deeds" dimension of Jesus' teaching enjoins concrete obedience to Jesus' commands, deed-teaching and disciple-making. Disciples of Jesus study, obey, teach and train others in the deeds Jesus taught and practiced. They do so, we must recall, as a joyful response to, and participation in, God's gracious deliverance and inauguration of the kingdom through Jesus Christ."

"Enter through the narrow gate...for the gate is narrow and the road is narrow that leads to life, and there are few who find it." Christian existence is a path that is followed, a way of living that is practiced. The road is narrow, many miss it. This is a terrifying warning, and one that makes no sense if the Christian faith is understood merely or even primarily as intellectual assent to convictions about Jesus, as an inspiring and encouraging personal relationship with him, or as a forensic transaction gaining us admission to heaven."
~ Both from the book Kingdom Ethics

Simply, Christ calls his followers to be salt and light in this word, flavor of moral goodness as opposed to moral evil that leaves a bad taste in the mouth, and light, as examples to a dark world of how humans are to genuinely live... Doing deeds and caring for the oppressed so that the world may see and give glory to our Father in heaven. We are to be signposts in a hopeless world proclaiming that death has been defeated and pointing towards the future hope. It is a sad thing to see the teachings of Christ reduced to a mere ticket into heaven resulting in a detachment and escape mentality from this world, cutting the nerve of any action to be apart of God's plan of redeeming it from corruption and evil.