Post by miriamjacob on Nov 26, 2006 11:44:53 GMT -5
The rich young man By Daniel Escasa
The good and loving Lord spoke to me of last Sunday's Gospel about the rich young man. This is what He said:
Jesus said, "Sell all you have, give to the poor, and follow Me." The rich young man went away sad, for he had many possessions.
But did the rich young man really own his possessions? On one dimension, *everything* we hold comes through the grace of God. Jesus simply asked him to lift them up for God's greater glory.
On another dimension, it was those posssessions that owned the rich young man. If we are so attached to material things that they come between us and Jesus, they control -- and therefore, own -- us.
Corollary to this -- it's not only the tangible that can keep us from accepting Jesus' invitation "Follow Me." It could be our position of influence in the community, our profession, our talents, or -- ironically -- our ministry in the Church. We may be so comfortable in our current situations that we cannot give them up even if He is calling us to something even greater. Worse, they can be our greatest temptation to pride. God knows our hearts, and can tell when our possessions bring more glory to us than to Him.
Prayer:
Good and loving Lord, I praise You and thank You for all you have entrusted to me. I pray for the grace to use your gifts for Your greater Glory.
Amen.
The author is an Independent computer technology writer and consultant; contributor, Free Software Magazine (http://www.freesoftwaremagazine.com); and technical consultant, Philippine Open Source Initiative (http://www.positive.ph). His personal blog is at descasa.i.ph
Article Source: www.faithwriters.com
The good and loving Lord spoke to me of last Sunday's Gospel about the rich young man. This is what He said:
Jesus said, "Sell all you have, give to the poor, and follow Me." The rich young man went away sad, for he had many possessions.
But did the rich young man really own his possessions? On one dimension, *everything* we hold comes through the grace of God. Jesus simply asked him to lift them up for God's greater glory.
On another dimension, it was those posssessions that owned the rich young man. If we are so attached to material things that they come between us and Jesus, they control -- and therefore, own -- us.
Corollary to this -- it's not only the tangible that can keep us from accepting Jesus' invitation "Follow Me." It could be our position of influence in the community, our profession, our talents, or -- ironically -- our ministry in the Church. We may be so comfortable in our current situations that we cannot give them up even if He is calling us to something even greater. Worse, they can be our greatest temptation to pride. God knows our hearts, and can tell when our possessions bring more glory to us than to Him.
Prayer:
Good and loving Lord, I praise You and thank You for all you have entrusted to me. I pray for the grace to use your gifts for Your greater Glory.
Amen.
The author is an Independent computer technology writer and consultant; contributor, Free Software Magazine (http://www.freesoftwaremagazine.com); and technical consultant, Philippine Open Source Initiative (http://www.positive.ph). His personal blog is at descasa.i.ph
Article Source: www.faithwriters.com