How does my purpose of living for total health and consciousness square with Christianity? Let me be clear about this. I am not, on a fundamental level, living to serve the Creator or the Messiah. And, if you are honest with yourself, I believe you will realize that you aren’t either. I have yet to find a person who is not living for personal fulfillment. In my case, I believe this will come through living for total health and consciousness forever, and I am seeking to do this now by living in appointed times by faith. I would bet that your picture of ultimate fulfillment also includes health and consciousness, though you may define these slightly differently than I do.

So, you may be thinking I am a heretic. But stop a moment and ask yourself a question: why do you follow the religion that you do? Is it not your hope of attaining ultimate personal fulfillment and does this fulfillment not include a higher order of health and consciousness than what you currently enjoy?

With all that being said, I am a passionate follower of Y’shua (Jesus) the Christ. I have radically altered my life many times as a result of trying to love my Messiah with all my heart. I study the Bible every day, witness in prayer or in person every week, have an active prayer life, give thanks regularly, and meditate on Scripture throughout the day. When I read a passage of Scripture, I seek to do something personal and practical with it in my life.

I don’t say any of this to impress anybody, only to establish that I am a dedicated Christian and not some liberal critic trying to tear down Christianity. However, the reason I believe and act as I do is not for many of the reasons others do. Some of these include:

1. Following inherited traditions. While following family or community traditions can keep the peace and allow for better relationships with close kin, this is not a compelling enough reason for me to pattern my life after these traditions.
2. Believing fundamentalist rhetoric. There were many things I grew up hearing and never thought to challenge. These included the existence of a divine being who created the universe, the inerrancy of Scripture, the young earth hypothesis, and the resurrection of Y’shua (Jesus). Though I still believe in some of these, I definitely can understand that there are valid reasons to believe otherwise.
3. Presupposing certain truths or doctrines. I don’t just assume the Bible is true and relevant for my life; I start with reason and logic to form my understanding of the Bible’s veracity and relevance. I don’t assume something is correct just because I want it to be or because that is the way I am currently living.
4. Living solely for the Father’s glory. The important word here is solely. I am living to glorify the Father, but this is not my only motivation in life, at least at this time. In addition, the reason I am living with this purpose is to achieve a greater purpose: personal fulfillment.

While saying all this, I am cognizant that professing the Christ entails me to surrender my own will and follow His even if this causes some pain and hardship in the present. As the apostle Paul said in II Corinthians 4:17, “For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory.”

However, does this mean that every action I take and every thought I think must be directly linked to what He wants for me? This would include the clothing I wear, the food I eat, the places I frequent, the conversations I have, the books I read, the jobs I work, the exercise I do, etc. etc. etc. Be very careful how you answer this. If you say yes, be prepared to be consistent and live out what you believe.

Are you willing to totally lose the ability to think for yourself? Are you willing to give up your own will entirely? Is it your desire to turn into a glorified robot controlled by someone else? In the next post, I will share why this is not my desire, at least at this time.

However, if this is your conviction, then consider the following questions. Is it His desire to turn you into a glorified robot? Couldn’t he have just created man that way in the beginning and forgotten all the fuss of dying for us?

The Almighty purposely gave the pinnacle of His creation free will, undoubtedly knowing we would stray from worshiping Him. I believe one of His goals was to create conscious followers and not robots. So, whether from a personal perspective or a divine perspective, I encourage you to embrace your free will and consciousness. These are the Father’s most precious gifts to you.

What motivation then should drive our thinking and behavior as conscious Christians? In the next post I will give my tentative solution to this question.