27 “My Father has handed over everything to me. Indeed, no one fully knows the Son except the Father, and no one fully knows the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son wishes to reveal him.
Saint Bonaventure, Bishop and Doctor of the Church (Memorial)Although you have hidden these things from the wise and the learned you have revealed them to the childlike. (Matthew 11:25)
Think about the incredible advancements in technology that have come about in the past century. Computers that once took up entire rooms now fit on your desktop. People once doomed to die from horrible diseases now go on to live for many happy and healthy years. Airplanes and high-speed trains have made the globe much smaller. And yet the same problems that have dogged us for centuries—poverty, war, crime, abuse—are still around. Why can’t all this incredible knowledge help us tackle these issues?
The problem is that technology cannot reveal the most important truth of all: that we are children of God. Those whom Jesus calls “the wise and the learned”—the ones who rely only on brainpower—can’t quite understand this (Matthew 11:25). They can surmise that there is a God, but only God can reveal himself to us. We just have to be “childlike” and ask him to show us!
What does it mean to be childlike? It means acknowledging that we were created to have an ongoing relationship with God—a relationship of love, trust, and dependence. It means believing that God is committed to us as a father is to his children. It means keeping ourselves open to the promptings that God sends to us.
Here is one way that you can work on being more childlike in your day—even as you go about your very grown-up life. Make it a point to take some time to slow down. It’s easy to fill our days with activities, chores, and obligations and miss out on our relationship with God. Of course, there is much that we have to do each day, but it’s also vital that we not become consumed by it.
So spend time just enjoying God’s presence. Sit outside and absorb the sun, thanking your Father for the gift of its warmth. Or close your eyes, and imagine yourself taking a leisurely walk with Jesus. Put aside all the “grown-up” thoughts for just this time, and simply enjoy the Lord. Be like a child, and see what your Father reveals to you.
“Father, thank you for calling me your child! Help me to know you not just as the Almighty, but as Abba, my Dad.” Amen!
Exodus 3:1 (iv) Now Moshe was tending the sheep of Yitro his father-in-law, the priest of Midyan. Leading the flock to the far side of the desert, he came to the mountain of God, to Horev. 2 The angel of Adonai appeared to him in a fire blazing from the middle of a bush. He looked and saw that although the bush was flaming with fire, yet the bush was not being burned up. 3 Moshe said, “I’m going to go over and see this amazing sight and find out why the bush isn’t being burned up.” 4 When Adonai saw that he had gone over to see, God called to him from the middle of the bush, “Moshe! Moshe!” He answered, “Here I am.” 5 He said, “Don’t come any closer! Take your sandals off your feet, because the place where you are standing is holy ground. 6 I am the God of your father,” he continued, “the God of Avraham, the God of Yitz’chak and the God of Ya‘akov.” Moshe covered his face, because he was afraid to look at God.
9 Yes, the cry of the people of Isra’el has come to me, and I have seen how terribly the Egyptians oppress them. 10 Therefore, now, come; and I will send you to Pharaoh; so that you can lead my people, the descendants of Isra’el, out of Egypt.”
11 Moshe said to God, “Who am I, that I should go to Pharaoh and lead the people of Isra’el out of Egypt?” 12 He replied, “I will surely be with you. Your sign that I have sent you will be that when you have led the people out of Egypt, you will worship God on this mountain.”
Psalm 103:(0) By David:
(1) Bless Adonai, my soul!
Everything in me, bless his holy name!
2 Bless Adonai, my soul,
and forget none of his benefits!
3 He forgives all your offenses,
he heals all your diseases,
4 he redeems your life from the pit,
he surrounds you with grace and compassion,
6 Adonai brings vindication and justice
to all who are oppressed.
7 He made his ways known to Moshe,
his mighty deeds to the people of Isra’el.
___________________________________
No comments:
Post a Comment