Boardwalk, Nisqually National Wildlife Refuge with Mt Rainier in background, Washington, USA
“The Way” was the name given to the early Christians. These early Christians, or followers of Christ, clung tenaciously to following the path of Jesus. Their sole focus was in living a life of humility and charity by loving neighbor and God and persevering in the path, the way of Jesus, until the end. This life style is illustrated by the following quotes from Justin Martyr (100 AD – 165 AD).
We used to hate and destroy one another and refused to associate with people of another race or country. Now, because of Christ, we live together with such people and pray for our enemies. – Justin Martyr
We ourselves were well conversant with war, murder and everything evil, but all of us throughout the whole wide earth have traded in our weapons of war. We have exchanged our swords for plowshares, our spears for farm tools...now we cultivate the fear of God, justice, kindness, faith, and the expectation of the future given us through the Crucified One....The more we are persecuted and martyred, the more do others in ever increasing numbers become believers. - Justin Martyr
We pray for our enemies; we seek to persuade those who hate us without cause to live conformably to the goodly precepts of Christ, that they may become partakers with us of the joyful hope of blessings from God, the Lord of all. - Justin Martyr
Justin Martyr was born about 30 miles north of Jerusalem in 100 AD. He started a Christian school in Rome and was martyred along with six of his companions in about 165 AD.