Jesus Christ was rich,
but he became poor for your sake,
to make you rich out of his poverty. 2COR 8:9
PETER 1:3-9 ©
My soul's Beloved,
Faith is God's most precious gift to us. It is a gift of grace given by God to those whom He chooses. Faith enables us to believe in You even though we have not seen You. Not all who hear believe because the Good News of God's love is beyond our human capacity to fathom. It is God, who chooses who He desires, He supplies the grace that enables us to believe the Good News of our salvation that even while we were yet sinners, the Father sent You into the world, not to condemn us but to save us. You, the Son of God, the Sinless One, came into the world to pay the ransom for our sins.
It is a work of grace that enables us to believe this wondrous, unimaginable, unfathomable Good News that for many is not just ridiculous but impossible to believe that God would will His only Son to pay the penalty for our sins and that You, His Son, would gladly, obediently, and lovingly choose to freely die a horrific death to save us, unworthy creatures, from eternal death so we could live and share in the glory of Your Resurrection as God's adopted children.
Who could believe it but for the gift of faith? Our faith in You is a guarantee of the place God has prepared for us even before He laid the foundations of the world.
St. Peter reminds us that suffering is the touchstone that purifies us and prepares us to receive the reward that You won for us on the Cross at Calvary. Suffering is an invitation to all who love You to have some share in Your work of redemption. In embracing our daily little crosses cheerfully and uniting them with Yours we are given an opportunity to grow in Your image and likeness. It makes no sense to the human mind but it is part of God's loving but mysterious plan to give us the honor of drinking from the Saving Cup which You drank to its bitter dregs.
A faith that is tested and purified by suffering can withstand all the wiles and onslaughts of the world, the flesh, and the devil.
St. Peter assures us, 'Through your faith, God’s power will guard you until the salvation which has been prepared is revealed at the end of time.'
MARK 10:17-27 ©
My Soul's Beloved,
Today You remind us that love is so much more than keeping a checklist of the commandments and ticking each one off as we observe them.
Love is the total giving of self to the beloved. It seeks the good of the beloved. It is prepared to imitate You all the way to Calvary and to the Cross.
Many of us find it difficult to let go not necessarily of our wealth or possessions but our ego, our critical spirit, our grudges, our constant nagging, and fault finding. If we find ourselves unable to be generous in our self-donation to those closest to us, grant us the grace to do so, Lord for You are a God of the impossible.
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