“Trust in the LORD with all your heart, on your own intelligence rely not…” Proverbs 3:5
So I got a ticket the other day. I was driving on the highway, listening to some music when, all of a sudden, I hear sirens behind me. I looked down at my speedometer and was horrified to see the dial read “90 mph” (the speed limit was 70 mph). I knew I was done for. I pulled over to the side of the road, got my license and registration out and prepared to receive a monster ticket.
The police officer came up to my window and said 4 words: “Ninety in a seventy?” I felt horrible. He gave me the ticket and I got back on the road, driving safer, slower and with more appreciation than ever before.
This incident got me thinking, though. I have the same tendency to have a “heavy foot” in my spiritual life. I try to force myself into some “perfect” faith life; I try to tackle problems on my own rather than asking God for guidance; and I allow the phrase “Thy will be done” turn into “my will be done.” It’s sad, but true.
Jesus comes to us today in a verse from the Book of Proverbs. I’ve always thought of the Book of Proverbs and the Book of Wisdom as the biblical-precursor to the popular series “Chicken Soup for the Soul.” They contain aphorisms and advice on practical matters. In this particular passage, the writer is describing the sort of attitude that we should have before God. It reads like a checklist of things we should do and say as sons and daughters of God. Yet it’s not meant to be a mere list of the ways and means of being a Christians, just like our prayers are not supposed to be just repetitious, meaningless words. We are called to have a transformation, a conversion of heart. And our actions should reflect this conversion.
Now, I’ll be the first one to say that it’s very easy to slip into complacency in terms of our prayer life; furthermore, I admit that, for the last year or two, my prayer life has been one of laziness and self-contentment. But, in my opinion, the beauty of our faith is that every passing moment provides with the opportunity to turn it all around. Today we can decide to change. At this very second, you and I look up to heaven and rededicate our lives to Christ. Salvation, my brothers and sisters, is a stone’s-throw away.
In our celebrity-obsessed society, we see people becoming star-struck and tongue-tied when their favorite baseball player or rapper is in their midst (ever seen that show "Fanatic" on MTV?). If we can get that stupid around some “famous” person, how much stupider should we be when we come to our Lord? One of the most dumbfounding truths you’ll ever come to know is that the King of the world, the Creator of the universe, the Lamb of God wants to talk to you. How humbling is that? Whenever I stand before the Eucharist, I just feel so small. I feel more awestruck than I ever would meeting some movie star. And I just feel stupid. I’m not using the word stupid in a negative sense; rather, I’m using it to contrast the infinite-knowledge that God has and how, in comparison, I’m nothing.
But here’s the crux of Christianity—God loves us anyway. No matter how ugly or unintelligent or bad the world makes us think we are, God loves us. Brothers and sisters, we’ve been sold a bag of lies. We’ve all bought into this false-attitude towards life. We look in the mirror and see all that we’re not. But when God looks at us, He sees all that we are and all that we could be. And that love should drive us to our knees, in submission and humility. God desperately-wants us to love Him back and to trust Him. Just as a child categorically-trusts his or her parents, we too are called to trust our God with all of our heart, knowing that He has wonderful plans for us (see Jeremiah 29:11).
So, what am I saying here? I’m saying that prayer is an amazing thing. It can (and does) change the world. Talk to God. Tell Him all of your problems. Be naked (spiritually and emotionally…not physically) before Him. He already knows all of what you know—indeed, He knows much, much more. I promise that if you are real with Him—good or bad—He will be closer to you than ever before. And that, my brothers and sisters, is worth more than anything in this life.
Oh…and I also want to ask you to drive carefully. You don’t need to drive fast in order to evaluate your spiritual life. It just took a whack on the head (and a blow to the wallet) for me to realize this. Think of your reading this Randumb Thought as your whack in the head. Amen.
So I got a ticket the other day. I was driving on the highway, listening to some music when, all of a sudden, I hear sirens behind me. I looked down at my speedometer and was horrified to see the dial read “90 mph” (the speed limit was 70 mph). I knew I was done for. I pulled over to the side of the road, got my license and registration out and prepared to receive a monster ticket.
The police officer came up to my window and said 4 words: “Ninety in a seventy?” I felt horrible. He gave me the ticket and I got back on the road, driving safer, slower and with more appreciation than ever before.
This incident got me thinking, though. I have the same tendency to have a “heavy foot” in my spiritual life. I try to force myself into some “perfect” faith life; I try to tackle problems on my own rather than asking God for guidance; and I allow the phrase “Thy will be done” turn into “my will be done.” It’s sad, but true.
Jesus comes to us today in a verse from the Book of Proverbs. I’ve always thought of the Book of Proverbs and the Book of Wisdom as the biblical-precursor to the popular series “Chicken Soup for the Soul.” They contain aphorisms and advice on practical matters. In this particular passage, the writer is describing the sort of attitude that we should have before God. It reads like a checklist of things we should do and say as sons and daughters of God. Yet it’s not meant to be a mere list of the ways and means of being a Christians, just like our prayers are not supposed to be just repetitious, meaningless words. We are called to have a transformation, a conversion of heart. And our actions should reflect this conversion.
Now, I’ll be the first one to say that it’s very easy to slip into complacency in terms of our prayer life; furthermore, I admit that, for the last year or two, my prayer life has been one of laziness and self-contentment. But, in my opinion, the beauty of our faith is that every passing moment provides with the opportunity to turn it all around. Today we can decide to change. At this very second, you and I look up to heaven and rededicate our lives to Christ. Salvation, my brothers and sisters, is a stone’s-throw away.
In our celebrity-obsessed society, we see people becoming star-struck and tongue-tied when their favorite baseball player or rapper is in their midst (ever seen that show "Fanatic" on MTV?). If we can get that stupid around some “famous” person, how much stupider should we be when we come to our Lord? One of the most dumbfounding truths you’ll ever come to know is that the King of the world, the Creator of the universe, the Lamb of God wants to talk to you. How humbling is that? Whenever I stand before the Eucharist, I just feel so small. I feel more awestruck than I ever would meeting some movie star. And I just feel stupid. I’m not using the word stupid in a negative sense; rather, I’m using it to contrast the infinite-knowledge that God has and how, in comparison, I’m nothing.
But here’s the crux of Christianity—God loves us anyway. No matter how ugly or unintelligent or bad the world makes us think we are, God loves us. Brothers and sisters, we’ve been sold a bag of lies. We’ve all bought into this false-attitude towards life. We look in the mirror and see all that we’re not. But when God looks at us, He sees all that we are and all that we could be. And that love should drive us to our knees, in submission and humility. God desperately-wants us to love Him back and to trust Him. Just as a child categorically-trusts his or her parents, we too are called to trust our God with all of our heart, knowing that He has wonderful plans for us (see Jeremiah 29:11).
So, what am I saying here? I’m saying that prayer is an amazing thing. It can (and does) change the world. Talk to God. Tell Him all of your problems. Be naked (spiritually and emotionally…not physically) before Him. He already knows all of what you know—indeed, He knows much, much more. I promise that if you are real with Him—good or bad—He will be closer to you than ever before. And that, my brothers and sisters, is worth more than anything in this life.
Oh…and I also want to ask you to drive carefully. You don’t need to drive fast in order to evaluate your spiritual life. It just took a whack on the head (and a blow to the wallet) for me to realize this. Think of your reading this Randumb Thought as your whack in the head. Amen.
posted by Kujo @ 3:39 PM
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