In other words, "Love God body, soul, and spirit -- with all that you are and all that you have."
Who among us is equal to such a task? "The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak." What we want to do is the very thing we end up not doing, according to St. Paul (Romans 7), and what we determine not to do is the very thing we end up doing after all. How then are we to love God with our whole being?
Mother Teresa called herself "a pencil in the hand of God." When I put myself into that wonderful image, I can only picture a poor, dull, stub of a pencil, hardly worth saving -- something that lands in a junk drawer and is eventually thrown out. However, I imagine God reaching into the junk drawer and finding the stub and deciding that it still has some usefulness. In His hands, that poor little pencil can write a symphony, a gospel, a healing letter. The only requirement is that the pencil be available for the Divine Purpose.
During the earliest days of my conversion or "born again" experience, when I had just begun to read the Bible, a good friend asked me to co-lead a prayer group with her. Immediately, I backed away, saying that I had just begun to read the Bible and that I didn't know where things were yet. If I read something, I couldn't remember where I had read it and could hardly find it again. I had no ability at all to quote Scripture: what on earth would qualify me to lead a prayer group?
"Listen to me," said this very wise woman, "God does not need your ability; He only needs your availability." "Oh," I said, "I guess I could be available." And very soon I began to discover what God could do -- and would do -- when we make ourselves available to Him, body, soul, and spirit.
Mary's Magnificat says it all: My soul doth magnify the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for He has done great things for me. If we break this down into its components, we see that Mary's "soul," -- that is, her mind, her will, and her emotions --- were focused not on herself and her abilities, but on the greatness of the Lord. Her life was a magnifying glass for the secret and hidden action of God in the world, seeing not what man does in the world, but rather what God is about. She regarded only her smallness, her inability, her poverty -- and the power of God to use what is freely and willingly given over to Him for His purpose, His plan, His providence. In her surrender to Divine Power and greatness, her spirit rejoiced. She found joy in her littleness and in her inability because she belonged to the One Who created all things and Who uses all things for His design. She belonged to Him body, mind, soul, and spirit -- nothing was withheld from Divine Love.
We too can go on our way with joyfulness, not focused on our weakness in the flesh and our inability to do great things. If we are surrendered to the plan, the purpose, and the power of God, He will do great things for us also.
Mother Teresa called herself "a pencil in the hand of God." When I put myself into that wonderful image, I can only picture a poor, dull, stub of a pencil, hardly worth saving -- something that lands in a junk drawer and is eventually thrown out. However, I imagine God reaching into the junk drawer and finding the stub and deciding that it still has some usefulness. In His hands, that poor little pencil can write a symphony, a gospel, a healing letter. The only requirement is that the pencil be available for the Divine Purpose.
During the earliest days of my conversion or "born again" experience, when I had just begun to read the Bible, a good friend asked me to co-lead a prayer group with her. Immediately, I backed away, saying that I had just begun to read the Bible and that I didn't know where things were yet. If I read something, I couldn't remember where I had read it and could hardly find it again. I had no ability at all to quote Scripture: what on earth would qualify me to lead a prayer group?
"Listen to me," said this very wise woman, "God does not need your ability; He only needs your availability." "Oh," I said, "I guess I could be available." And very soon I began to discover what God could do -- and would do -- when we make ourselves available to Him, body, soul, and spirit.
Mary's Magnificat says it all: My soul doth magnify the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for He has done great things for me. If we break this down into its components, we see that Mary's "soul," -- that is, her mind, her will, and her emotions --- were focused not on herself and her abilities, but on the greatness of the Lord. Her life was a magnifying glass for the secret and hidden action of God in the world, seeing not what man does in the world, but rather what God is about. She regarded only her smallness, her inability, her poverty -- and the power of God to use what is freely and willingly given over to Him for His purpose, His plan, His providence. In her surrender to Divine Power and greatness, her spirit rejoiced. She found joy in her littleness and in her inability because she belonged to the One Who created all things and Who uses all things for His design. She belonged to Him body, mind, soul, and spirit -- nothing was withheld from Divine Love.
We too can go on our way with joyfulness, not focused on our weakness in the flesh and our inability to do great things. If we are surrendered to the plan, the purpose, and the power of God, He will do great things for us also.
No comments:
Post a Comment