WHAT ARE YOUR
SPIRITUAL GIFTS?
In Paul’s Letter to the Corinthians we
are challenged in many ways. He describes the influence of the Holy Spirit in
our daily lives and in the entire world. God’s Love is everywhere. This is his
creation so his presence cannot be avoided. His mark is on all that we see and
all that we experience. There is not one thing throughout the universe that is
not impacted by God in some way. We can recognize this by just looking for it.
In fact, we are invited to do just this. It can be considered an open
invitation that has no expiration date or expectation of response. As Jesus
himself said: “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock
and the door will be opened to you.” The point is clear: God and his love are
already with us; we just need to turn to it.
A mother does not have to be taught to
love its child. It is a natural inclination. God has loved us since our
creation. Once we truly realize this we can then experience that love and be
enveloped in its embrace. Imagine our God with us completely and
uncompromisingly revealed in all of his glory. He is before us, in us, and
around us. Even more, he wants to be here to rescue us from our own selfishness
which has blurred our creation experience. A life without God is incomplete.
That is why there is suffering, disappointment, and loss. It is not because of
God but because of the lack of a reaction to his presence.
We are promised benefits and gifts from
the experience of God’s love. Paul tells us that they are given by the Spirit
to us. So, God loves us and also freely gives to us abundant displays of this
love and affection freely for us so that we may become instruments for the
salvation of ourselves and others. It is the most selfless display of
affection. God gains nothing from this exchange. We gain everything. To
recognize these benefits and gifts we only have to recognize and accept his
love. Through this action we can then realize that all of us are equally
important and have unique talents and abilities that make us special. No one
can ever be replaced. It is impossible.
The hardest thing about being members of
a community and each of us having such a dramatic impact on each and all
persons is when someone leaves. All persons are missed. Our minds are filled
with images and names of all those people we shared something with and there are
times when we come to a sudden realization that we miss them. That is God’s
love working in us. Something was shared with the help of God’s love and part
of us always goes with them. It’s a longing of the heart. It keeps all of us
connected regardless of where we are.
When we experience God’s love we will truly
be complete and happy. It is inevitable. No longer will we have to replace the
emptiness that we all have felt sometimes in our lives with materialism,
wealth, and addiction. No longer will be have to keep ourselves stimulated and
entertained with things of this world without truly experiencing it. All what
society offers has the capability of blinding us to the presence of God. There
is evil in that. We cannot put what society has to offer above what God has to
offer. Only God and his love can complete the puzzle of a wonderful and
fruitful life.
God wants us to be happy. When we
suffer, he suffers also. He wants to be joined with us in this life and the
next. We need to stop resisting this call to holiness and immerse ourselves in
it. The imagery brought forth in the Sacred Scriptures that comes to mind is
that of Living Water. It quenches our thirst and refreshes us. It gives us
life, energizes us, and cleanses us completely. As this occurs and we are
constantly being formed towards perfection, God revels in our happiness.
We are the bride and he is the bridegroom.
We are wedded to him forever.
Deacon Tom
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