It is natural
for us to question God and his influence in our lives when we are
confronted with a crisis or an obstacle that appears to be
insurmountable. We are taught throughout our lives that God is
watching over us and protecting us in a most loving way. Furthermore,
God is all powerful and good. If this is true, why then do we find
ourselves challenged and, at times, unhappy with ourselves? God
encourages this exercise and wants us to question him. Through this
process our faith can actually be strengthened. When we doubt God and
his love we are more able to engage our faith. This can cause us to
embrace our faith by seeking the answers to the questions that we
present. It can become a quest for knowledge and understanding. As
more is revealed to us, the answer will become more clear and we will
have more confidence in that very same answer.
We all want to
be loved. We were created that way so as to experience the perfect
love that is God. For that love to be strengthened it must be tested
and forged. Like steel, the more that it is heated the stronger it
gets. Love that is not challenged is shallow and weak. God does not
want us to come forward to him in a perfectly straight path. Our
Salvation Story is long and winding. The road can be dark,
foreboding, and desolate. But in the end, there is a glorious light.
Through Sacred Scripture and prayer, God guides us and reminds us
that we as Christians will cry out to him in misery and fail to see
him. He also comforts us with the knowledge that the suffering is not
forever and the reward for it will be the presence of his love for
us. To experience this love we must seek it and fully embrace it,
allowing it to influence this precious life of ours. When we
surrender to him, then what we are to say and do in response to it
will become all the more clear.
In the Letter
to the Hebrews it is written, “but the just one, because of his
faith, shall live. This is a guarantee that as long as we stand by
God and walk with Christ, we will be rewarded and loved. God has
given us the free will to choose him or reject him. Just as we spent
so much time turning away from him, the journey back to him will take
a lot of time and effort. There will be great rewards for this effort
and hard work even if they are not immediately noticeable.
We should not
expect to receive accolades for what we do in the name of Our Lord
Jesus Christ. Most of our good works and acts of kindness will go
unnoticed except by Jesus and ourselves. There is a simplicity and
beauty in this. Recognition from society and from people in general
are fleeting and meaningless. They come one day and are gone the
next. Any type of reward that can be contrived is temporary. It is
forgotten very soon and our lives continues. As Jesus says, we should
store up our treasures in heaven for that reward is eternal. With
that eternity comes the love of God and ultimate happiness. While we
are here on this earth we should humble ourselves and have confidence
that our work pleases God and that is all that matters. There should
be a wantonness to please God because we love him and want to.
Nothing more should matter. Through these acts we will feel his love
all the more and we will be transformed continuously. This is what
God guarantees.
At times,
living a Christian life can be a lonely existence. There are those
who will alienate us and try to convince us to abandon our journey
for something more fulfilling. This type of fulfillment lies in sin
and ignoring God while pursuing the corporal things in life. In the
short-term, this type of life will offer stimulation and
gratification but it is shallow and expires quickly, leaving an
emptiness that can only be filled by more indulgence. When we are
lonely we need to remind ourselves that we are working towards the
strongest foundation of joy imaginable; one that is with and for God.
When Saint John
the Baptist was in prison he had already proclaimed that Jesus was
the messiah and the Lamb of God. Yet, in his loneliness, he started
to doubt. He was challenged that everything he did and saw was for
naught. He overcame this through his faith. Through his example we
can receive consolation that this is a natural occurrence for those
of us in the Christian Community and everyone in the world. To
overcome it we must pray and concentrate ever harder on our work here
on this earth knowing that God will recognize us for our love and for
what we do. The more we open up to him and follow his instructions
the more the truth will be revealed. It is a process of knowing and
understanding. Much like Saint John the Baptist, we all have a
certain amount of understanding if not a complete understanding. To
have more revealed we must strive for it through our actions and
faith-life.
There is
greatness in the ultimate truth. We all have that ability to
experience that greatness through the love of God and working hard in
our lives to pursue knowledge and understanding regarding who we are
and where we are going. The people that we meet and engage on this
journey are the most important ones imaginable. Each is the
personification of Jesus Christ. How we interact with them will
define our relationship with Jesus Christ and will be the ultimate
factor regarding how bright our own light will shine and how much we
will be able to feel God's love. The more we feel God's love, the
more we will be able to enjoy this life of ours on this earth.
Deacon Tom
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