The samurai code of the Bushido show us that the samurai where to live a life with out selfish regards for their own welfare. They were to live by the purity of their hearts and there principles. The goal of the samurai was to serve his Lord with out consideration of own self and to preserve the honor of those whom he was indebted to. If the samurai didn't show total commitment to his Lord at all the time then he brought shame to himself, his family, and his Lord. If the samurai brought shame to his family and Lord he and the culture felt it was appropriate to commit Seppuku. Ritual suicide. Unlike the western concept of suicide, the samurai and it's culture saw Seppuku as the ultimate act of responsibility. Instead of his family living with the shame of his actions the samurai took it upon himself to set things right. The selflessness, self-control, and courage displayed caused others to alter their perception of the character and forgive the shame placed on his family and Lord. In many ways the relationship to our creator needs to be that of the Samurai and there Lord. The samurai were to know the mind of their Lord just as we Christians are to know the mind of Christ our Lord. Samurai were endowed with all authority and power of their Lord just as we Christians have God's authority and power through Jesus Christ. The oneness that human kind had with God in the Garden of Eden was broken by our disobedience to God. Human kind brought shame on the household of our lord. We were driven out like samurai with out a Lord. We needed some how to repair what was broken. Just as seppuku is the act that took shame from a family seppuku was committed for us to be right with God. Jesus Christ took all our shame and sins on his back and wiped our past lives clean. He provided a way for our shame to be erased and a relationship to begin. AS one with the father, Christ knew the mind of God and portrayed the father's moral charater. He devoted his life to the will of God to establish God's kingdom here on earth. Like the code of the Bushido he sacrificed his life in obedience to his master and Lord, God. His death on the cross was a demonstration of his selfless motives and purity of conscience. If we relate his death on the cross as an expression of our willingness to do whatever is necessary to erase our shame and restore our relationship to our heavenly father then the requirement of seppuku has been fulfilled and our relationship with God is restored. Jesus loves you and has taken it upon himself to free you from your past present and future sins. It's a free gift to you from God. Are you willing to accept his gift and live in Christ as the samurai did for their Lord? To live is Christ, to die is gain for Christians, and do you have that kind of mindset as a Christian? Rev. Michael T Soldier for Christ