Every man has the ability to differenciate the good from the evil, the just and the unjust. With our personal freedom we can accomplish a good or bad behaviour.

    When saint Peter began to exhort three thousand people to be converted, they asked him: “Brother, ¿what have we to do?” The answer would be to accomplish the message of Christian morals, because there must be a strict correspondence between the faith and the Christian morals, between truth and life. Faith is a divine iniciative who calls man and encourages to follow Him. The elements of this process are: the God’s calling, the man’s answer, the support of Jesus, becoming his disciple, imitating his life, and identifying with Him. We can think of each of these steps.

    The calling. The God’s calling to man, or vocation, is not a man’s iniciative; it’s just that God starts the dialogue and suggests a more honest and fair behaviour.

    Answer. When man answers affirmatively to God, they accept his life style that has been suggested, in order to improve their moral life.

    Support. Following Jesus is not an utopic ideal, but a commitment to accept his doctrine and to live their precepts.

    Disciple. Following Jesus means to make into his disciple and learn from his teacher, not only the contents of his teaching, but also to be part of the same fondness and feelings.

    Imitation. The way Jesus acts and his words, his actions and precepts make up the moral rule of Christian life. When He gave us the new commandment of “love each other”, he added “as I have loved you”, i.e., imitating him in love. Besides, copying him in his behaviour about family, work, friendship, pleassure, justice, social life and politics, etc. with the same virtues that Christ kept in those very realities.

    Identification. Because not only is social life imitation, but also it includes identification with his life, and becoming one person with Him.

    To sum up, the moral life of a Christian consists of managing so that Jesus be totally manifested in their lives: in their thoughts, wishes, feelings, freedom and, of course, in their works.

    Arturo Ramo    

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