Baxter is getting older. He just had a birthday, and he is certainly out of the kitten and teenage phases of life. He is even beyond the youthful adult category. Baxter is a “mature” cat now. The signs of his mounting years are subtle but clear. He is much less feisty than he used to be. He gives into whatever I want him to do much more easily than in the past. He still doesn’t like getting flea protection each month or sticking to his diet, but he doesn’t fight it. He is docile and accepting of what he has come to know is part of life for him. He still gets around to explore and to chase bugs. But the number of these episodes has deceased as his years have increased.
While some things have diminished with the years for Baxter, others have grown more common. He is more affectionate and trusting towards me in his senior years. He lies on my lap and sleeps so soundly that he snores. This soon awakens both of us until we realize that the noise is harmless. Baxter rarely gets angry, really angry, any longer. He may nag to be fed or whine to have a door opened, but if he doesn’t get his way after a while, he just walks away and finds something else to interest him. Age has mellowed Baxter. It is easy to live with him now. Simple things— - a daily brushing, a scratch on the neck or belly, kibble, a clean litter box—are all it takes to keep him happy.
How well are we aging? That is something we may not think about often, but perhaps we should. The kind of person we become in our prime is what we take into our later years. Despite the wonders of modern medicine, we cannot replace the dominant parts of our character we have shaped through the years. An angry young man left to himself will become a resentful old man. A petty, sneaky, gossiping young woman can often turn into a complaining, crotchety busy-body in her later years. Our habits may take on a different form because age brings different circumstances and conditions to our lives, but once formed, they often remain set. So, if you are young enough to change your ways, think about it and act before the time has passed. If you are set in those ways, then pray for the grace to break a pattern of negative thinking and feeling about life.
In the later years of life, we must rely upon God more and ourselves less, if things are to improve. That is where our second chances arise, not from our own determination and ingenuity, but from our trust in the power and fidelity of God to save us. We age with grace when we quit trying so hard, whether we’re trying to control our lives and others, to impress others with ourselves, or to get ahead of them so that we don’t have to serve them any longer. We age with grace when we allow God and those we love in God to offer help, advice and care. We age with grace when we quit trying to prove ourselves to God and others, and instead, trust that they will love us for who we are, warts and all. As we get older, we need to invite God to take us to Himself as we are and show us how He loves us more than we ever imagined.
"Late have I loved Thee, Beauty ever ancient, ever new." Saint Augustine wrote these words in his Confessions to describe his regret when he finally discovered faith. It is never too late to love God, or better, to allow God to love us. It is how we age with grace, how we can grow despite ourselves, how a youthful old age is possible. Ever ancient, ever new, forever with God.
Thursday, February 20, 2014
Wednesday, February 12, 2014
HIDING IN PLACE
Baxter sometimes hides in place. I don’t know if the cold weather is to blame, or if he just wants to get away from my bothering him. Whatever the reason, he has taken to going somewhere out of sight by himself for a part of the day. If I call his name, he may answer or he may not. If I look for him, I don’t find him in his usual spots. Instead, he is in the spare room where no one ever goes, or under the bed, or in the bathtub behind the shower curtain. He gets away, and when discovered, he may come out or he may not. He enjoys hiding in place, away from the sights and sounds of the TV, radio, street noises, phone conversations, and my bantering. Baxter finds a place of peace and quiet, and he stays there until he’s ready to come out again.
Sometimes we need to do the same thing. Life gets so busy, we need to stop. Our world becomes so noisy and crowded, we need to turn it all off and be alone with ourselves. Problems mount, and we get overwhelmed. Then we become irritated with the whole situation. That’s when we need a "time out". Giving ourselves permission to walk away from it all and take a break is an important habit to develop and use. It’s a tool for us to relax, get things into perspective, appreciate the blessings we share through others, and figure out how to make things better when we return. Hiding in place makes space for us to listen to our own hearts again and discover there the voice of God.
Jesus did this in His ministry. How often in the Gospels do we hear, “He would withdraw to deserted places and pray.” Jesus wasn’t running away from His responsibilities to spread the message of God’s Kingdom, but He needed the time away to regroup and figure out the next step in His mission. Even for the Lord, life sometimes came at Him too fast and furious—too many crowds with too many demands creating too much conflict. He had to stop, get in touch with His Father’s love, and refocus on His purpose. He always came back to His mission, and His return often brought a new resolve to carry though His Father’s will, even to the cross. Removing Himself for a while wasn’t running away for Jesus, but a time to renew His strength and commitment to follow faithfully His call from the Father.
So find your hiding place and use it well. Baxter does, and he seems the
better for it.
Sometimes we need to do the same thing. Life gets so busy, we need to stop. Our world becomes so noisy and crowded, we need to turn it all off and be alone with ourselves. Problems mount, and we get overwhelmed. Then we become irritated with the whole situation. That’s when we need a "time out". Giving ourselves permission to walk away from it all and take a break is an important habit to develop and use. It’s a tool for us to relax, get things into perspective, appreciate the blessings we share through others, and figure out how to make things better when we return. Hiding in place makes space for us to listen to our own hearts again and discover there the voice of God.
Jesus did this in His ministry. How often in the Gospels do we hear, “He would withdraw to deserted places and pray.” Jesus wasn’t running away from His responsibilities to spread the message of God’s Kingdom, but He needed the time away to regroup and figure out the next step in His mission. Even for the Lord, life sometimes came at Him too fast and furious—too many crowds with too many demands creating too much conflict. He had to stop, get in touch with His Father’s love, and refocus on His purpose. He always came back to His mission, and His return often brought a new resolve to carry though His Father’s will, even to the cross. Removing Himself for a while wasn’t running away for Jesus, but a time to renew His strength and commitment to follow faithfully His call from the Father.
So find your hiding place and use it well. Baxter does, and he seems the
better for it.
Thursday, February 6, 2014
FEAR OF BEING ALONE
Baxter doesn’t like it when I leave for an extended time. I try not to tell him. I hide the suitcase, talk about the trip outside of his hearing, and never allude to someone else looking after him for a while. Nevertheless, Baxter somehow gets a whiff that I’m going away, and he objects. If he does find the suitcase, he lies down in it, hoping I won’t notice him, so that I will inadvertently pack him with my clothes. If that strategy fails, Baxter won’t let me out of his sight. Wherever I go, he follows. Whatever chair I sit in, he climbs next to me or on me. If I’m working on something, he sits in front of me and stares, refusing to let me out of his sight. Baxter feels anxious at just the thought of my being away from him. He’s afraid to be alone for fear of being abandoned.
We can get this way as well. We often don’t want to admit it, but we rely upon certain people to be in our lives. We take it for granted. Then, if something changes and they aren’t there in the same way any longer, we get upset and anxious. Maybe they grow up and move out of the homestead. Maybe they move out of town for work and career opportunities. Maybe they pass from our lives because they no longer live on this earth as we do. Age, disease or illness has taken them away from us. Whatever the reason, we feel alone and abandoned. Our daily routines are disrupted because the people who were part of them aren’t there any longer. Our sense of well-being is lost. We wonder what to do with our time, why to put effort into some ordinary chores like cooking and cleaning, how to weave our lives back into the human fabric we have worn for many years. When someone significant is now missing, it’s hard to go on as usual, because the usual partners in life aren’t there.
But as Saint Paul says, “This is our reason to hope.” We believe that we are never alone and abandoned. The deep, personal, significant influences we have had on each other aren’t lost by distance or time. They ripen and mature. We learn to appreciate the sacrifices made on our behalf when we are called to make them for others. Children learn how deeply their parents loved them when they become parents themselves. Students value how excellent teachers nurture and challenge them to learn more when they graduate from that school. A friendly neighborhood is a gift we take for granted until we find ourselves in a world of strangers, uninterested in each other. We make these imprints on each other wherever we are for however long we live. Those who have loved us and touched our lives significantly get under our skin, and, in a way, become part of us even when we are apart.
This is one of the ways we are made in God’s image. God acts to shape our lives by sending His disciples to teach us His ways by the example they set and the influence they have on us. This is the core of faith formation. The way we show each other God’s ways in our world involves a sharing of life experiences that create memories and understandings of what is important that cannot be forgotten. Our physical circumstances may change, but these marks of faithful living will endure like tattoos that become part of our make up. We may miss the physical presence of the persons who left their mark on us, but we can never erase their spiritual influence that marked our souls with their faith.
This is the communion of saints we so often profess in our creed. We become who we are through this communion we share in living, and we never become detached from it, even if we try. Our loved ones, living and dead, are praying for us and with us, moving us through our memories to make faith-filled decisions, and supporting us through their gentle, quiet presence that tells us we are not alone, not abandoned. We can try to run away from them, but we cannot get away from them. We live bonded by the grace of this holy communion.
So, Baxter, I may leave for a while, but I am not gone. Neither are any of the friends and family whose love has shaped us to value certain things, live a certain way, and see ourselves as all God’s children
together striving for eternal life.
Monsignor Statnick
We can get this way as well. We often don’t want to admit it, but we rely upon certain people to be in our lives. We take it for granted. Then, if something changes and they aren’t there in the same way any longer, we get upset and anxious. Maybe they grow up and move out of the homestead. Maybe they move out of town for work and career opportunities. Maybe they pass from our lives because they no longer live on this earth as we do. Age, disease or illness has taken them away from us. Whatever the reason, we feel alone and abandoned. Our daily routines are disrupted because the people who were part of them aren’t there any longer. Our sense of well-being is lost. We wonder what to do with our time, why to put effort into some ordinary chores like cooking and cleaning, how to weave our lives back into the human fabric we have worn for many years. When someone significant is now missing, it’s hard to go on as usual, because the usual partners in life aren’t there.
But as Saint Paul says, “This is our reason to hope.” We believe that we are never alone and abandoned. The deep, personal, significant influences we have had on each other aren’t lost by distance or time. They ripen and mature. We learn to appreciate the sacrifices made on our behalf when we are called to make them for others. Children learn how deeply their parents loved them when they become parents themselves. Students value how excellent teachers nurture and challenge them to learn more when they graduate from that school. A friendly neighborhood is a gift we take for granted until we find ourselves in a world of strangers, uninterested in each other. We make these imprints on each other wherever we are for however long we live. Those who have loved us and touched our lives significantly get under our skin, and, in a way, become part of us even when we are apart.
This is one of the ways we are made in God’s image. God acts to shape our lives by sending His disciples to teach us His ways by the example they set and the influence they have on us. This is the core of faith formation. The way we show each other God’s ways in our world involves a sharing of life experiences that create memories and understandings of what is important that cannot be forgotten. Our physical circumstances may change, but these marks of faithful living will endure like tattoos that become part of our make up. We may miss the physical presence of the persons who left their mark on us, but we can never erase their spiritual influence that marked our souls with their faith.
This is the communion of saints we so often profess in our creed. We become who we are through this communion we share in living, and we never become detached from it, even if we try. Our loved ones, living and dead, are praying for us and with us, moving us through our memories to make faith-filled decisions, and supporting us through their gentle, quiet presence that tells us we are not alone, not abandoned. We can try to run away from them, but we cannot get away from them. We live bonded by the grace of this holy communion.
So, Baxter, I may leave for a while, but I am not gone. Neither are any of the friends and family whose love has shaped us to value certain things, live a certain way, and see ourselves as all God’s children
together striving for eternal life.
Monsignor Statnick
Thursday, January 30, 2014
WINTER BLUES
The winter doldrums are hard to take. The cold, snow, harsh wind and ice seem to freeze our spirits. We hide in our homes, hoping the furnace keeps running. We get frightened by the bitter temperatures and the slippery roads. We wonder when it will all end. The world seems bleak and pale, cast in black and white, the black of deicing chemicals and road grime, the white of snow and ice. It is easy to get down in the dumps in such a bland environment.
Baxter weathers winter well though. He seems no different in this season from the warmer and more colorful times of the year. His routine of eating, sleeping and window watching goes on uninterrupted. He may sleep over the heat register more often, but otherwise, he is content with the time of the year in which he finds himself. Baxter doesn’t complain about the weather. He just lives with it. In fact, Baxter doesn’t complain about much at all. Only three desires make him whiny: hunger, drinking from the spigot, and an occasional exploration into the garage. He is easy to please, and so he is a happy cat.
What about us? Can we find peace and contentment with what life brings our way, or are we always looking for something more, something better, bigger, prettier or more convenient? This restless drive for more can throw our lives off balance. We spend so much time and energy on looking ahead to the next improved thing, that we miss the value and beauty of what we have now. We work so hard to get ahead that we fail to appreciate the blessings of the present time and condition. We measure success by external gauges—the size of our pay check, home or car, our titles at work or our awards on the playing field—and we miss the measure of our character. What kind of a person am I? Kindness, humility, gentleness, patience, honesty, generosity and integrity are gems that sparkle in any season of life. They may not always make the climate calm and comfortable for everyone, but they will make it safe for the human spirit to survive. Without this spirit, God cannot be seen in our midst no matter how many pious words or practices we use.
Winter is God’s gift to us, not necessarily to like, but to use to take stock of who we have become. The long nights inside call us to think about where our lives are going and with whom we are making the journey. Are we and they people of character living by what we believe God has shown us about life in Jesus? Are we happy with ourselves no matter the moral climate around us? Are we right with our own hearts so that our imperfections and those of others are not causes for chronic distemper, but reasons to give thanks for God’s boundless love, patience and forgiveness? The winter outside isn’t our real threat. The winter inside our hearts is. Only God’s grace can warm them enough to change our ways.
Winter makes little difference in Baxter’s life. Mostly, it changes the scene outside the window. May we learn to adapt this way to the wintry world of selfishness, evil and sin, so that when they need it, others will find in us a warm place filled with God’s love.
Baxter weathers winter well though. He seems no different in this season from the warmer and more colorful times of the year. His routine of eating, sleeping and window watching goes on uninterrupted. He may sleep over the heat register more often, but otherwise, he is content with the time of the year in which he finds himself. Baxter doesn’t complain about the weather. He just lives with it. In fact, Baxter doesn’t complain about much at all. Only three desires make him whiny: hunger, drinking from the spigot, and an occasional exploration into the garage. He is easy to please, and so he is a happy cat.
What about us? Can we find peace and contentment with what life brings our way, or are we always looking for something more, something better, bigger, prettier or more convenient? This restless drive for more can throw our lives off balance. We spend so much time and energy on looking ahead to the next improved thing, that we miss the value and beauty of what we have now. We work so hard to get ahead that we fail to appreciate the blessings of the present time and condition. We measure success by external gauges—the size of our pay check, home or car, our titles at work or our awards on the playing field—and we miss the measure of our character. What kind of a person am I? Kindness, humility, gentleness, patience, honesty, generosity and integrity are gems that sparkle in any season of life. They may not always make the climate calm and comfortable for everyone, but they will make it safe for the human spirit to survive. Without this spirit, God cannot be seen in our midst no matter how many pious words or practices we use.
Winter is God’s gift to us, not necessarily to like, but to use to take stock of who we have become. The long nights inside call us to think about where our lives are going and with whom we are making the journey. Are we and they people of character living by what we believe God has shown us about life in Jesus? Are we happy with ourselves no matter the moral climate around us? Are we right with our own hearts so that our imperfections and those of others are not causes for chronic distemper, but reasons to give thanks for God’s boundless love, patience and forgiveness? The winter outside isn’t our real threat. The winter inside our hearts is. Only God’s grace can warm them enough to change our ways.
Winter makes little difference in Baxter’s life. Mostly, it changes the scene outside the window. May we learn to adapt this way to the wintry world of selfishness, evil and sin, so that when they need it, others will find in us a warm place filled with God’s love.
Wednesday, January 22, 2014
A SPECIAL GIFT
I got Baxter a special present this past Christmas. I noticed he would lie in front of the heat register on cold winter days. So I found in a catalogue a cat bed that was heated to correspond with a cat’s body temperature. It seemed the perfect special gift,and I hadn’t done anything that extravagant for Baxter since I bought him his Notre Dame collar a few years ago. I ordered the bed, and it came a few weeks before Christmas. I kept it in the box until about a week before the holiday, when I set it up. I told Baxter that this was his special Christmas gift and I was sure he would love it. He ignored it. Later, he sniffed at it and walked on the cushion. He has yet to lie down on it. So much for the perfect Christmas gift!
I thought I knew what Baxter would like and need. I assumed that a heated bed was better from his perspective than a place in front of the furnace vent. I was wrong.
We do the same thing to each other, don’t we? We think we know what the other person needs to be happy, and we act on our assumption. We do it all in good faith, wishing the best for the person, but we forget one thing in the process--letting the other speak his or her mind and respecting that opinion, even if we disagree with it. We sometimes skip those steps, and when we do, we can be far off the mark in understanding and serving the other.
The wonderful thing about our God is that He never skips any steps in His relationship with us. He wants us to voice our opinion with respect, and He respects us for doing so. He made each of us unique, and considers that quality a precious part of His image in us. He made us free to explore new ideas, try new ways and seek communion with Him and each other. For our part, we have to cooperate. We have to share what we are thinking and listen to different points of view. We have to allow others to try approaches different from our own, and consider the results. We find our communion in God by respecting our differences and discovering how they fit together to make a bigger and better picture of God’s likeness in our midst. We assume less, and we look, listen and discuss more.
I guess I am excused for my mistake with Baxter’s heated bed. After all, we don’t exactly speak the same language, and we are different species in the scheme of God’s creation. However, I don’t have the same excuses when it comes to my brothers and sisters in Christ, nor do you.
I thought I knew what Baxter would like and need. I assumed that a heated bed was better from his perspective than a place in front of the furnace vent. I was wrong.
We do the same thing to each other, don’t we? We think we know what the other person needs to be happy, and we act on our assumption. We do it all in good faith, wishing the best for the person, but we forget one thing in the process--letting the other speak his or her mind and respecting that opinion, even if we disagree with it. We sometimes skip those steps, and when we do, we can be far off the mark in understanding and serving the other.
The wonderful thing about our God is that He never skips any steps in His relationship with us. He wants us to voice our opinion with respect, and He respects us for doing so. He made each of us unique, and considers that quality a precious part of His image in us. He made us free to explore new ideas, try new ways and seek communion with Him and each other. For our part, we have to cooperate. We have to share what we are thinking and listen to different points of view. We have to allow others to try approaches different from our own, and consider the results. We find our communion in God by respecting our differences and discovering how they fit together to make a bigger and better picture of God’s likeness in our midst. We assume less, and we look, listen and discuss more.
I guess I am excused for my mistake with Baxter’s heated bed. After all, we don’t exactly speak the same language, and we are different species in the scheme of God’s creation. However, I don’t have the same excuses when it comes to my brothers and sisters in Christ, nor do you.
Wednesday, January 15, 2014
A MESSY LIFE
Pets bring a bit of mess into our lives. Baxter brings tuffs of hair with him in every situation. I have learned to live with a lint remover as part of my preparation to appear in public. The hack of a hairball with its coughed up residue is just a part of routine cat behavior. I have learned to whisk away the results as soon as it happens. Traces of litter track from Baxter’s box. He splashes the water in his dish to get it to move before he drinks, and the puddles left are my job to wipe. A perfectly neat and clean life is not possible with a pet. The owner becomes the janitor, or else the shared world becomes a health hazard for everyone.
Living with God can get messy as well. When we look at the doctrines, moral principles, and liturgical norms of our church, we like to pretend that it is so clear and well packaged that there is no question what it takes to live faithfully. But when the Word became flesh, God took on our messy human existence. Here people are weak, and their resolve is sometimes fickle. Circumstances create contradictions between goods that are hard to figure out. Tragedies render persons incapable of caring for themselves and each other. These conditions can cause people to lose hope and tempt them to give up trying for a better way. What’s the use? Solve one problem, clean one mess and another comes around the corner before you can catch your breath. Life’s a mess.
Yes, but within the mess there is love, gratitude, help from others and genuine concern to make life better for everyone. God is the source of this Spirit hidden in the heart of our humanity. But if we try too hard to keep it all neat and clean, clear and unambiguous, straight and narrow, we won’t see this Holy Spirit. We will only see the mess. We will only measure how far off the mark we or others are. We will only condemn the faults and failures and not see the persons struggling to find God in the mess. That was the Scribes’, Pharisees’ and temple officials’ problem in Jesus’ day, and likewise, it can be our problem in our day.
Yes, pets are messy, but despite all the loose hair, spilt food and drink, paw tracks and floor deposits, they bring joy and companionship to our lives. Despite the messiness of life, God brings much more to our lives. His grace assures us that all will be well. His love upholds us when all else seems lost. His life is stronger than death, and so brings hope and peace beyond the grave. Yes, it’s worth the mess to find the divine meaning of it all.
Living with God can get messy as well. When we look at the doctrines, moral principles, and liturgical norms of our church, we like to pretend that it is so clear and well packaged that there is no question what it takes to live faithfully. But when the Word became flesh, God took on our messy human existence. Here people are weak, and their resolve is sometimes fickle. Circumstances create contradictions between goods that are hard to figure out. Tragedies render persons incapable of caring for themselves and each other. These conditions can cause people to lose hope and tempt them to give up trying for a better way. What’s the use? Solve one problem, clean one mess and another comes around the corner before you can catch your breath. Life’s a mess.
Yes, but within the mess there is love, gratitude, help from others and genuine concern to make life better for everyone. God is the source of this Spirit hidden in the heart of our humanity. But if we try too hard to keep it all neat and clean, clear and unambiguous, straight and narrow, we won’t see this Holy Spirit. We will only see the mess. We will only measure how far off the mark we or others are. We will only condemn the faults and failures and not see the persons struggling to find God in the mess. That was the Scribes’, Pharisees’ and temple officials’ problem in Jesus’ day, and likewise, it can be our problem in our day.
Yes, pets are messy, but despite all the loose hair, spilt food and drink, paw tracks and floor deposits, they bring joy and companionship to our lives. Despite the messiness of life, God brings much more to our lives. His grace assures us that all will be well. His love upholds us when all else seems lost. His life is stronger than death, and so brings hope and peace beyond the grave. Yes, it’s worth the mess to find the divine meaning of it all.
Wednesday, January 8, 2014
IT TAKES WORK
Having a pet takes work. You have to feed and water your charge daily. You have to provide for its bathroom habits. You have to pay attention to it, talk to it, play with it, groom it. You have to clean up after pets-spills, tuffs of hair, paw tracks. You have to accept these terms of pet ownership, if your cat, dog or other critter is not just to survive, but to thrive in sharing life with you. Having a pet carries with it responsibili-ties and chores that your animal is counting on you to fulfill, if it is to be healthy and happy.
Any significant relationship we have takes work. We are not simply, conveniently connected to each other whimsically, if our relationship matters in any way. We have to make time and space for those who mean something to our lives. We have to respond when they ask for help in some way. We have to care for them, if they can’t care for themselves, and we have to take time just to be with them, if we value their relationship. Love and friendship aren’t free. They cost us by taking pieces of our lives and sharing them with those we hold dear. We can’t keep our own lives self-contained and expect to feel needed and loved. We have to tie ourselves together in concrete ways and bear the burdens and sacrifices of these ties, to know the warmth, security and meaning that come in a true and honest loving rela-tionship. We lose a part of our lives to gain a larger life in loving another.
This holds for God’s life with us as well. God loves us before we know it, and He will never withdraw His love from us no matter what we do or what happens in our world. But we cannot experience God’s love for us unless we are able to respond to God with thoughts, feelings and actions that make our divine connection a reality in our lives. Negative thinking about how awful our lives are will never allow God to show us His care. Fear of divine punishment and resentment over life’s unfairness leave no room for the light and peace of eternal life. Efforts that are merely self-serving and self-aggrandizing will never build a better world in which all of us can live happier lives.
This cost of caring is shown to us on the cross. There Jesus made the ultimate sacrifice to show His divine love and how it saves us. Any human thoughts about revenge for this suffering were transformed into words of forgiveness and mercy. Any feelings of despair and disillusionment gave way to those of trust in His Father and abandonment to His will. Finally, in handing over His Spirit on the cross, Jesus gives us the power of divine life to use in carrying on His work of building God’s Kingdom in our midst. This total picture reveals the work of grace in the working of our relationships. God uses our efforts at conscientious care for each other to transform us into His holy people, to help us grow in our discipleship, and to teach us how much He loves us.
Don’t worry, Baxter. You’re safe with me. I’m not going anywhere—and neither is God!
Any significant relationship we have takes work. We are not simply, conveniently connected to each other whimsically, if our relationship matters in any way. We have to make time and space for those who mean something to our lives. We have to respond when they ask for help in some way. We have to care for them, if they can’t care for themselves, and we have to take time just to be with them, if we value their relationship. Love and friendship aren’t free. They cost us by taking pieces of our lives and sharing them with those we hold dear. We can’t keep our own lives self-contained and expect to feel needed and loved. We have to tie ourselves together in concrete ways and bear the burdens and sacrifices of these ties, to know the warmth, security and meaning that come in a true and honest loving rela-tionship. We lose a part of our lives to gain a larger life in loving another.
This holds for God’s life with us as well. God loves us before we know it, and He will never withdraw His love from us no matter what we do or what happens in our world. But we cannot experience God’s love for us unless we are able to respond to God with thoughts, feelings and actions that make our divine connection a reality in our lives. Negative thinking about how awful our lives are will never allow God to show us His care. Fear of divine punishment and resentment over life’s unfairness leave no room for the light and peace of eternal life. Efforts that are merely self-serving and self-aggrandizing will never build a better world in which all of us can live happier lives.
This cost of caring is shown to us on the cross. There Jesus made the ultimate sacrifice to show His divine love and how it saves us. Any human thoughts about revenge for this suffering were transformed into words of forgiveness and mercy. Any feelings of despair and disillusionment gave way to those of trust in His Father and abandonment to His will. Finally, in handing over His Spirit on the cross, Jesus gives us the power of divine life to use in carrying on His work of building God’s Kingdom in our midst. This total picture reveals the work of grace in the working of our relationships. God uses our efforts at conscientious care for each other to transform us into His holy people, to help us grow in our discipleship, and to teach us how much He loves us.
Don’t worry, Baxter. You’re safe with me. I’m not going anywhere—and neither is God!
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