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usmhot --

But, the problem is, to follow Christ completely you basically have to submit your whole existence to his path. For example, I have one child, a daughter, and nothing brings me greater joy than to be with her and see her happy. And, while this in itself is a joy to the Christian God, I would, strictly speaking, have to give that up and devote my whole time to alleviating poverty and suffering.

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I'm not so sure that devotion to Christ implies a life like Mother Theresa. Remember when the woman put expensive oils on the feet of Jesus and someone complained that the oil could have been sold and the money used to feed the poor. Jesus said something like, you will always have the poor but you won't always have me. It might be like that in your example. Your daughter is like the feet of Jesus. Besides, would it be Christian Devotion to deny her what she needs in a father?

I think the insistence on this extreme idea of Christian devotion was advocated by some in the early church, seriously debated, and finally found to be inconsistent with the teachings of Jesus. Remember how Jesus was accused of drunkeness and glutonny because he ate and drank with people like a normal joe? In fact, Jesus even ate and drank with "sinners". Jesus was concerned with what's in the heart and the fruits that flow from it. But a life's vocation of love does not necessarily mean making a big show of it. A kind word, a friendly smile, a tolerant attitude, an empathetic response, paying the bills, raising good kids, maybe even having some beers with the guys. Maybe we can do more but we can't do everything. We each have our own mission. The mission of Jesus was to bring the message of the kingdom of heaven amongst us. But he lived life fully while he was doing it.

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