Conjectures of a recovering dilettante traveling the road to Utopia
How do we know our faith is based on the love of God, or the need for God in our lives?
I wonder how many of us actually ask this question? If we don’t, we should and often. It seems a realistic assumption that by nature most of us are selfish. I don’t mean in the obvious ways. That would be easy to figure out. This type of selfishness is more insidious - mainly because it disguises itself as altruistic even though it is very self-serving.
What do we really mean when we say: "Keep us from temptation."
When we say the Lord’s Prayer we say, “And keep us from temptation. I have always felt we should add to that – particularly that temptation which disguises itself as virtuous. What makes this so difficult to clarify is that most of us reach the point where we lead reasonably decent lives. It would probably be considered by most standards as a “good Christian life.”
There are the saints and the rest of us
Here is the point where we separate the saints from the rest of us. Clearly, the saints have managed through prayer and desire to place their egos on hold and put the Lord’s will in its place. When we say ‘Let your will be done” they in fact not only have the good intention of doing it, they actually do it.
Do we really mean - "Your will be done" or has this become a "catch phrase" that we use often?
Consider how difficult this is. All we have to do is see how few of us achieve this, even though it is the goal we all aspire to reach.
So how do we reach the goal – to imitate and be like the saints - For one - not alone? Prayer and meditation are not only necessary but inseparable. Prayer builds our personal relationship with our God. If that does not make you whole, it certainly gets you thinking about it in a more realistic way.
What is your answer going to be?
So where are you in this journey? What would be your answer be when the Lord asks you “to sell everything and follow me?" Our answer clarifies where we are on our spiritual journey.
As for me – I would rather not answer the question right now.
Brother Franco
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