Silver bullets

How can we attain a righteous life?

I think it falls into two categories; man's way and God's way.

Man's way is to work

Cursed is the ground because of you;
In toil you will eat of it
All the days of your life.
Both thorns and thistles it shall grow for you;
And you will eat the plants of the field;
By the sweat of your face
You will eat bread,
Till you return to the ground,
Because from it you were taken;
For you are dust,
And to dust you shall return. - Genesis 3:17b - 19

The end of this path is thorns, thistles and ultimately death. So we can rule that out which leaves only one way.

God's way

God's way is faith in Jesus Christ.

Faith in Him that leads to action. The moment when you see yourself and what He has done for you. When the veil is lifted and you see His face. Never the same and at this moment your life is His. Being transformed into His image.

Strangely, this reminds me of the life cycle of a salmon.

Bear with me... Salmon are born into fresh water as fry. Their blood is saline like ours and so they need to retain salts and pump out freshwater through their gills to maintain this balance in freshwater. As the days get longer in the spring the fry literally "see the light". Sunlight triggers a small photo sensor buried in their skull called a "pineal gland". You and I have one too, it kind of looks like a tiny pine cone and it's why you might notice you may feel happier or more energetic in the summer. When the daylight portion of the day reaches a certain number of hours the photo sensor is triggered and the fry begins to change. This change is called "smoltification" and it happens routinely every year. It probably seems insignificant to most people but it is an even more material change than the transformation of a caterpillar into to a butterfly.

Smoltification is a transformation process involving changes on the inside and out. It's a mix of biology, salt, light and a bit of the miraculous. Inside the fish, the gills that once retained salt must be able to complete a 180 degree turn and pump salt out of the fish. To do this new chloride cells are constructed inside the gills. Every chloride cell has within it something called ATPase which is an enzyme required to convert the nucleotide adenosine triphosphate. ATP is required for growth and energy. Without ATPase the fish will die.

On the outside, while the fry are in freshwater their scales are small and hardened so that they can handle some abrasion while hiding under sticks and in the gravel. They are also covered in greenish camouflage. On their way to sea they trade in their green camo for their more stylish blue and whites. Now they have a bluish green dorsal colour and a silvery white ventral colour - ideal for the deep blue sea. Their scales become less hardened as their body is no longer intended for gravelly subterfuge but more or less built purely for speed.

This is what happens when a skinny green fry hiding in a dead lake becomes a silver bullet in an ocean of life. God intended for salmon to be changed on the inside and out just like you and me. All that's required is salt, light and a miracle from God.

"You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled by men.

"You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven. - Matthew 5:13-16

And no one puts new wine into old wineskins; or else the new wine will burst the wineskins and be spilled, and the wineskins will be ruined. But new wine must be put into new wineskins, and both are preserved - Luke 5:37-38