Rules and Regulations or True to myself

I sit in my room pondering all the ways that we have tried to control humanity. We have placed our hope in government and politics to save us and to dish out rules and regulations that will guide human life. It should be apparent to all that this is not the answer and nor can it be the answer to our problem. There is something fundementally astray within us. We all have this desire for justice in life. We have a longing for things to be right, for people to get what they deserve. Even though we have this desire we cannot live up to it. We blame everyone around us for the injustice that we see ignoring the fact that injustice runs straight down the middle of each of us. We know the right things to do and yet fail to do it. We can point out all the evil in the world but what really concerns me is the evil I still see streaking through my own life. What do I do about that? How can i hope to bring justice to this world or put my hope in politics and gov. with their rules if Ican't even see justice worked out in my own life? Perhaps this longing for justice is like an echo that my soul knows was and is to be someday and longs for desperately.
So, how do we go about trying to fix this broken world with all of its injustice when we can't even follow the rules in our own life? Gritting your teeth and mustering up the will power to obey the rules 1.doesn't work and 2.Isn't the kind of life anyone really wants to live. The other reply that has been given in our culture stems from the romantic, existential movements. In rebellion against the rules these people have espoused the solution to our problem is that we don't live authentically. We really just need to discover who we are and live genuinly with our feelings and emotions. These are the two issues that much of society turns on: you must obey the rules or you must live authentically allowing your true inner self to express itself without restraining it. Suprisingly (or not so suprisingly) the church has grappled with this same issue for quit some time. Many discussions or debates you hear in church really have to do with how people view following Jesus rather than the actuall issues. One person sees the rules as fundemental and that utter chaos would abound without them and that we must enforce the rules. The other sees Christ as realesing us from the law to live truely and authentically with our inner self. So, which is it? How do we live in between the tension that these two viewpoints posit? There are many historical events which hold sway over us! Immanuel Kant and his categorical imperative has made great influece on the church viewing Christianity as a set of rules while the Romantic and Existential period has influenced Christianity so much that some think their message was Christ's.
What is the key to this riddle? How do we live life authentically while following the rules? First, we must identify what is it that Jesus was seeking to do while he lived here. What was his purpose for going and teaching at all the different cities and spending so much time with the disciples? Was he merely just biding time before his crucifixion and resurrection? While this sounds outlandish many times our theology and worldview suggest this answer. What is life about after i get "saved"? Many think of Christianity as fire insurance and if i can get everyone else to get this same insurance and obey some rules along the way than i'll be safe. Salvation is an event but also a process! Jesus came to bring in his fathers kingdom. To inagurate the beggining of heavens rule on earth. He seeks to do this through those who follow Jesus. But how? By just believing in his name and waiting to die? NO! We cannot earn salvation in any way, but we are to be co-operators in our sanctification with Christ. We are to work out our salvation with fear and trembling.
                We return to the question of how we are to live authentically while obeying the rules. The Christian answer to this is by follwing a person, namely Jesus Christ. What happens after you have been "saved" is that God changes our heart but also desires us to pursue him by consciously choosing to develope character. Brain science has shown that we actually affect the physical makeup of our brain by the behavior and decisions that we make. When we choose to do a certain behavior or think a certain way over and over again it makes a neuropathway that will make that connection the next time an idea or similar thought comes its way. It can be seen physically in the makeup in the brain! Our brain is a muscle and will develope certain tendencies and habits of thinking. When we follow a person and develope the character that God is working in us to grow we can be genuine to ourselves because as a Christian  our deepest desire is to please God. He changes our hearts so that they cry for him and his peace and kingdom. In turn that character keeps the rules but its focus isn't on the rules but rather on a person and a way of life.
      So, how is it that God develops this character or Christ likeness in us? He has given his Spirit and promised He will never leave us or forsake us. What about us? How do we work out our salvation with fear and trembling? How do we be disciples of Jesus when he lived 2000 years ago in a different culture?
After You Believe: Why Christian Character MattersAfter You Believe: Why Christian Character Matters