A Christian Commitment To Christ

Rev. Richard F Camino, M.D., M.A.

The Gospel of John 3: 13-17, tells about the unimaginable love God has for us. The force question we should ask is: How is it that Christ gave his life for the salvation of All, and we built lives against them? 

In Thomas Merton’s book, Conjectures of a Guilty Bystander, he provides some answers to this question: “The sin of bad theology has been precisely this - to set Christ up against man, and to regard all flesh and blood men as 'not-Christ.' Indeed, to assume that many men, whole classes of men, nations, races, are in fact 'anti-Christ.' To divide men arbitrarily according to their conformity to our own limited disincarnate mental Christ, and to decide on this basis that most men are 'anti-Christ' - this shows up our theology. At such a moment, we have to question not mankind, but our theology. A theology that ends in lovelessness cannot be Christian”(The bold emphasis by me).

The spiritual and physical violence that we all experience today, sadly, not only comes from the secular non-religious world, but from religious, and in this brief discussion, many of our fellow Christian leaders,  theologians, and followers. We have ‘Pro-life’ Christians who have no problem with the death penalty, not supporting the poor, the hungry, or justifying violence and harassment against others who do not believe or think like them. Others, on the other hand, might think that this is not the role of the Church, or are too tired of the world’s conflict. The problem with this passive view, as Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel stated, is that “In a free society, some are guilty, but all are responsible.” 

Anyone can find biblical verses to support whatever they want to believe, like those who defended slavery using Biblical texts, or support polygamy, or kill ‘evil doers.’ Taking biblical texts from here and there is not enough to understand what Christ wants for us. Scriptures are consistent about the Love God has for All humankind. Christian life should be based on the love of God in Jesus Christ and for others. Lifting our voices to expose injustice and act in a way that supports a loving community is consistent with Romans 13:8-10 ^“ Owe no one anything, except to love each other, for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law. ⁹ For the commandments, “You shall not commit adultery, You shall not murder, You shall not steal, You shall not covet,” and any other commandment, are summed up in this word: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” ¹⁰ Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfilling of the law.”

  Being a Christian means considering the sanctity of life of All of all people, of all ages, of all races, of all religions, of all genders, of all social classes!

Today, I invite you to answer the call of Christ and live the difficult path of love. By looking at Jesus life, His unrelenting love, showing the importance of healing others (Mark 1:40-45; Matthew 8:1-4; Luke 5:12-14), feeding others (Matthew 14:13–21, Mark 6:31–44, Luke 9:12–17, and John 6:1–14), sharing our wealth with others (Matthew 19: 16-30, Acts 2:45, Mark 10:21, Luke 12:33, Acts 4:34-35). When we pray, read the Scriptures, serve others, we have the opportunity of contemplating the Face of God. Merton, defined contemplation as a “spiritual wonder. It is spontaneous awe at the sacredness of life, of being. It is a vivid realization of the fact that life and being in us proceed from an invisible, transcendent and infinitely abundant source. Contemplation is, above all, awareness of the reality of that source.” Let us live so that we can contemplate Christ in our lives. 

Bible Verses on the Sanctity of Life (ESV)https://www.openbible.info/topics/the_sanctity_of_life                                                Genesis 1:27    So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.                                                              Psalm 127:3    Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord, the fruit of the womb a reward.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         1 Corinthians 3:16-17     Do you not know that you are God's temple and that God's Spirit dwells in you?…For God's temple is holy, and you are that temple.                                                                                    John 3:16                                                                                                                 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.                                                                                                             Matthew 25:32-36                                                                                                                                          Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, ³⁶ I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.’”                                            Sept.14, 2025