Have We Truly Forgotten

After Jesus was brutally hung on a cross, we joyously celebrated his resurrection and vowed to follow His words of wisdom, love God above all, and love others as we love ourselves. These seem to be remarkably simple things to ask of us. However, right off, we, as humans, began to betray these simple commandments. Rome became the leader of Christianity and began dictating what was right and what was wrong.

Immediately, there was a group of people who objected to this and migrated to various deserts in Egypt and the Middle East. These few people offered a rich alternative to Rome; their communities were built on Love, the Love that Jesus taught. The people prayed; they worked for the benefit of the community; they shared. They supported each other; they loved, as Jesus asked. They read the Bible together, they discussed, argued, and learned of God.

How I wish we could roam in the woods, think about God’s creation, hear the streams flowing and understand that what we are is not what we are taught by others; it is what God has made us. If we listen, every bird, every tree, every rocky hill we climb speaks mountains to us about who we are and how we relate to each other. When the ancient Hebrews ran from Pharoah, they bickered all through the deserts, but they were faithful to each other, they cared for each other, they embrace each other when sick. This is the culture that Jesus grew in; this is the culture that He taught. Why can’t we have more respect for what He taught, what the desert Christians prayed and lived? Is it too far out of our reach today?