think of it the same way you (presumably) think of booze and that ought to help.
That is the strange thing BB, drink was so easy to stop, I just said to myself it is strictly against my religion and stopped. Cigs on the other hand is so much more difficult but perhaps that just shows my lack of willingness to stop, as I make excuses for myself and try to convince myself it isn't really prohibited (which I know is only lying to myself). I am weak but shall keep trying.
As if, "He loves me because I serve him." I do NOT find that in the Qu'ran, but I do find it in parts of both Islam and Churchianity.
It is not in the Quran and not quite what I meant, I am finding this very difficult to explain as it is such a personal and individual feeling.
It is like a marriage. When two people get married, they don't perform or love their spouses in order to stay married, but they perform or love their spouses because they are married. They are bound by a promise to love, honor, and obey.
Maybe I can explain it better using your example of marriage Dondi. A marriage takes work, if you neglect it then it can fail. I am aware that G-d loves me and is rooting for me to follow the path and do well (as your example of a father). G-d has provided me every assistance He can to find Him and submit to Him but as they say you can take a horse to water but you can't make it drink. I must do my part, I must work at that relationship, I have made a promise, through my submission, to put the work into that relationship. Do I do it so that I may be rewarded, no, I do it because it makes G-d happy, my service pleases Him, which in turn pleases me. Sometimes that is the hardest part, to be totally selfless and do something purely to please G-d, not because it makes you feel good because you are doing something good for G-d (does that make sense?).
Perhaps my difficulty is that I never understood how to be a good Christian? I felt as though I could not fail, as long as I didn't kill anyone (but even then if I truly repented there was hope for me). As with the father child relationship, G-d will always love me but if I fail I should be punished, as you would punish your child in order to teach them right from wrong. As a Christian I felt that if I repented honestly that sin would be forgiven and wiped out. As a Muslim I know nothing can be wiped out, my bad deeds will be shown to me on the Day of Judgement and weighed against my good deeds, insh'allah my good deeds will outweigh my bad. Allah is All Merciful, All Forgiving but I cannot allow myself to try to take advantge of that and assume I will be forgiven if I love Him enough.
I accept it was my failing but I was just trying to explain my personal feelings. As a Muslim I feel more accountable for my every deed. It has gone from a general feeling of doing good to thinking about my every small deed. Maybe that is just the level of concentration I need in order to succeed?
if this person who wrote this article, and the many muslims who continue to say "jesus is a prophet (pbuh), etc..." why not continue reading about him; the parables, the miracles, the teachings, the healings, and all the good he went about doing?
Blazn we do not deny the miracles or the good deeds or his exceptional teachings. We simply believe G-d worked through him as a man, not that he was G-d Himself. If we take miracles as proof of divinity should we not also take Moses (pbuh) as G-d? I hope we will agree that Moses (pbuh) was a Prophet and that G-d permitted him to perform miracles.
That was the way I felt before I got to know Christ, although you stated it more succinctly than I would have. Before I had a relationship with Him, I was an excellent employee. I was treated well and received ample pay. Once I became a Christian, I was family and my Fathers work became more important than anything. I ceased to be a servant. I was a trusted family member no longer on the outside looking disdainfully in. My heart and mind were opened to the beauty of this world. The "master" is my Father.
G-d does indeed work in mysterious ways Patti. We have each found our path to G-d by changing places. I have become closer to G-d by stopping thinking of myself as a child and now thinking as a faithful and humble servant. You have found your path by becoming G-d's child. Alhamdolillah and I pray we each find peace and guidance on our chosen path.
Salaam
