Thursday of the Fourth Week of Lent
March 22, 2007
“They forgot the God who saved them.”
Psalm 106:21
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There is the quote, “There are no atheists in the fox-hole.” It is amazing how many of us can come running back to God when death is staring us in the face. Forgetting about God and going through life as if he did not really matter, when we are on our last breathes it is time to turn to God in love with all our hearts because, frankly, there is no one else to turn to. Or, in the same vain and on a lesser scale, we can be the type of person who only turns to God when things are going badly and we need help. When things are smooth and good we forget about God but when they get difficult we turn to God and cry out for help.
Consider how much we remember God in terms of our friendship with him. What type of friend are we to God if the only time we relate to him is when things are going bad and we go to him for help. What kind of friend is that? Not much of one. That would be more about being a user of God than a friend with God. Imagine if you had a friend that only paid attention to you when they needed help and wanted to get something from you. Would not you be tempted to say enough is enough and move on to find a true friend where there is mutual giving and receiving. Now, think about how good our God is. What if God decided to move on from us because the only time we went to him was in our trials and all we were there to do was use him and get something out of him? That kind of friendship is not about friendship and love but about being a user. But thank God, God is God and will never stop befriending us no matter how much we forget about him and use him. We might do that but God cannot do that. In John’s Gospel we read how Jesus calls us “friend”. And his friendship will never end (fri-end—a friend will never end).
How would you describe yourself? Are you more of a friend with God or a user of God? Do you give him prime time and attention each day or is it more your mode to turn to him only when the distress level has reached a certain point?
As Christians, we do not want to forget about God and use him but we want to remember him and love him. This “remembering” God is a planned thing. To remember (re- again; member- become apart of) - to become a part of him again, is a deliberate, ongoing action in our lives. When I was twenty years old eight people prayed over me to know the Holy Spirit in Christ the King Chapel at Franciscan University, I felt like the Holy Spirit asked me this question, “Will you pray each day?” In my heart of hearts and responded, “Yes.” In other words, “Would I be a friend to God and love him in good times and in bad, in sickness and in health, for better or worse, all the days of my life?” I planned to be his friend and I carry out that plan each day. Even though it is ultimately all his love, we love and share with each other every day.
What is your deliberate plan to remember God and be his friend?
Live the confronted life!
+Fr. John
Consider how much we remember God in terms of our friendship with him. What type of friend are we to God if the only time we relate to him is when things are going bad and we go to him for help. What kind of friend is that? Not much of one. That would be more about being a user of God than a friend with God. Imagine if you had a friend that only paid attention to you when they needed help and wanted to get something from you. Would not you be tempted to say enough is enough and move on to find a true friend where there is mutual giving and receiving. Now, think about how good our God is. What if God decided to move on from us because the only time we went to him was in our trials and all we were there to do was use him and get something out of him? That kind of friendship is not about friendship and love but about being a user. But thank God, God is God and will never stop befriending us no matter how much we forget about him and use him. We might do that but God cannot do that. In John’s Gospel we read how Jesus calls us “friend”. And his friendship will never end (fri-end—a friend will never end).
How would you describe yourself? Are you more of a friend with God or a user of God? Do you give him prime time and attention each day or is it more your mode to turn to him only when the distress level has reached a certain point?
As Christians, we do not want to forget about God and use him but we want to remember him and love him. This “remembering” God is a planned thing. To remember (re- again; member- become apart of) - to become a part of him again, is a deliberate, ongoing action in our lives. When I was twenty years old eight people prayed over me to know the Holy Spirit in Christ the King Chapel at Franciscan University, I felt like the Holy Spirit asked me this question, “Will you pray each day?” In my heart of hearts and responded, “Yes.” In other words, “Would I be a friend to God and love him in good times and in bad, in sickness and in health, for better or worse, all the days of my life?” I planned to be his friend and I carry out that plan each day. Even though it is ultimately all his love, we love and share with each other every day.
What is your deliberate plan to remember God and be his friend?
Live the confronted life!
+Fr. John
posted by Patti @ 5:59 AM
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