“Choices”
May 5, Acts 11:19-26; Jn. 10:22-30
Every time you make a choice, you are turning the central part of
you, the part of you that chooses, into something a little
different from what it was before. And, taking your life as a
whole, with all your innumerable choices, all your life long you
are slowly turning this central thing either into a Heaven creature
or into a hellish creature — either into a creature that is in
harmony with God, and with other creatures, and with itself, or
else into one that is in a state of war and hatred with God, and
with its fellow creatures and with itself. To be the one kind of
creature is Heaven: that is, it is joy, and peace, and knowledge,
and power. To be the other means madness, horror, idiocy, rage,
impotence, and eternal loneliness. Each of us at each moment is
progressing to the one state or the other.
… C. S. Lewis, “Mere Christianity”
In today’s gospel the disciples are called Christians for the first time–a person who believes in Christ and makes it his or her chief concern to live by Christ’s example. Being a Christian is not about rules and regulations–it is about letting God move within us and mode our lives. It is our choice, as
C.S. Lewis describes. I have chosen away of life that is different from many people, and it scares people. I live for Jesus, as I meet him in people. I place my chosen path before myself, I live in the moment, and for me it is the choice I have made in following Jesus. I believe what I have the hardest problem with is to accept myself as being different, as walking a different path. My path is a challenge to others, it scares them because of the cost it would mean for them to choose the path. It scares them because it is very costly, and I challenge them to look at themselves. But when you get down to it–it is my path, my choice, and I follow it. And so my struggle is to accept my choice and the consequences that go with it. To say it is not tough would be to be lying, but the joy and the freedom I experience is far more worth the difficulties.
I prepared, cooked, and served the meal. People were appreciative. I was thinking about how some of those guys, no the large majority will remain on the streets the rest of their lives. Several are severely mentally ill. There is nothing that I can do, nor can any one else, but what I can do is walk with them, and love them. I came home exhausted, literally exhausted. Went to bed at midnight. Deo Gratis! Thanks be to God!
You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.