July 16
Anyone who chooses the will of God will find out whether my teaching come from God or whether I speak on my own. John 7:17
How many times in any given day are we faced with choices? Decisions made with great deliberation or quick, spontaneous acts made with little thought, just a quick knee-jerk reaction. We go through life rather routinely making many decisions based on what we did yesterday, or how we handled a similar situation in the past. Life altering decisions though, are more often made with careful reflection; typically leading us to the consultation of someone with greater knowledge of our circumstances. Life is filled with choices great and small and the decisions we make impact our lives permanently, even those small ones. How we underestimate the influence these choices have in our lives! It seems all decisions we make impacts someone or some area of life and decision making is not to be taken lightly. When my Roger and I married many years ago, we were presented by a priest friend of ours, with the image of Christ as the third person in our marriage. How that image has stuck with us! Rarely have we made any decision without making God a part of it. In retrospect, I only wish I had considered that more often when making many quick ones too.
Jesus tells us clearly that to follow the will of God is also a choice we make! It is our decision to follow His teachings. We are not forced to follow Him; we are not dragged into a relationship with God without freely and actively being a part of it. (Although there are times in our relationship with God, we may feel His Holy Spirit like a magnet pulling us closer to Him!) But, we choose. And when we do, the decision is heartfelt and life altering. We have been given much to help us make our choice to follow Jesus’ teachings.
Our family and friends, whose lives reflect God’s love and the teachings of our Faith as they follow God’s Word, are God’s treasured gifts to us, influencing any choices we may make. And, His Holy Word is there, just waiting for us to study too; to ingest, to become a part of us. Just as the result of any decision we make becomes visible in our lives, so is our decision to follow Christ’s teachings. Our lives will reflect the goodness of God and our enlightenment will radiate forth. When God is a partner in our decisions, we can be confident in any choices we make.
Dear Lord, make your will known to us and stay with us as we make our choices each day; the small ones and the great. May we always turn to you.
Copyright© 2014 Kathleen A. Matson
Anyone who chooses the will of God will find out whether my teaching come from God or whether I speak on my own. John 7:17
How many times in any given day are we faced with choices? Decisions made with great deliberation or quick, spontaneous acts made with little thought, just a quick knee-jerk reaction. We go through life rather routinely making many decisions based on what we did yesterday, or how we handled a similar situation in the past. Life altering decisions though, are more often made with careful reflection; typically leading us to the consultation of someone with greater knowledge of our circumstances. Life is filled with choices great and small and the decisions we make impact our lives permanently, even those small ones. How we underestimate the influence these choices have in our lives! It seems all decisions we make impacts someone or some area of life and decision making is not to be taken lightly. When my Roger and I married many years ago, we were presented by a priest friend of ours, with the image of Christ as the third person in our marriage. How that image has stuck with us! Rarely have we made any decision without making God a part of it. In retrospect, I only wish I had considered that more often when making many quick ones too.
Jesus tells us clearly that to follow the will of God is also a choice we make! It is our decision to follow His teachings. We are not forced to follow Him; we are not dragged into a relationship with God without freely and actively being a part of it. (Although there are times in our relationship with God, we may feel His Holy Spirit like a magnet pulling us closer to Him!) But, we choose. And when we do, the decision is heartfelt and life altering. We have been given much to help us make our choice to follow Jesus’ teachings.
Our family and friends, whose lives reflect God’s love and the teachings of our Faith as they follow God’s Word, are God’s treasured gifts to us, influencing any choices we may make. And, His Holy Word is there, just waiting for us to study too; to ingest, to become a part of us. Just as the result of any decision we make becomes visible in our lives, so is our decision to follow Christ’s teachings. Our lives will reflect the goodness of God and our enlightenment will radiate forth. When God is a partner in our decisions, we can be confident in any choices we make.
Dear Lord, make your will known to us and stay with us as we make our choices each day; the small ones and the great. May we always turn to you.
Copyright© 2014 Kathleen A. Matson