The path of sinners is the path of death. It is the way of death. The way of pessimists decays the body & soul. The way of haters is the way to implosion. On the other hand, abundant life is about reaching out and growing. Psalm 1 is an excellent example. Following God’s teaching and walking in His ways produces a manner of living that by law brings abundant fruits. It is not just what we believe cognitively but how we integrate our beliefs into a concrete way of life. The is why Jesus is referred to as “The Way, Truth and Life” (John 14:6). The key element is our emotional investment in God’s laws. We have to love following Christ to fully benefit in the fruits. If we obey God’s laws completely through sheer will and duty, without inner joy and feeling, the fruits wont appear. If we live life obeying God like a robot, things just wont grow around us because growth depends on an emotional investment in the will of God for our lives. When you read of clergy abuse in the Catholic church, you will discover that the abusing priests are people who have been serving their vocations out of extreme duty with little or no emotional attachment and inner appreciation to serving in truth. Their hearts are far from God, looking at externals and always acting to look good in front of others but their souls are like rotting bones. This is how the Bible describes the Pharisees. Walking in the true path of God involves really loving his laws: “their delight is in the law of the Lord…they are like trees planted by streams of water, which yield its fruit in its season, and their leaves do not whither. In all that they do, they prosper.” (Psalm 1: 2-3) Abundance & prosperity result when one integrates mind and heart to God. Thinking and feeling need to work together in pairs, just like when Jesus appointed the 72 in pairs to preach the Good News (Luke 10:1-10).
The Way
