Ever heard of the phrase “you’re one in a million” used as a compliment?
With over 6 billion people currently alive in the world today, that means there are 6,000 people just like you!
(The population of the state of Oklahoma is about 4.5 million. Ironically, there are four people in the state with the same first and last name as me.)
I discovered this near the end of a lengthy article by Fr. John Whiteford:
In On Christian Doctrine, St. Augustine spends a lot of time describing how one should read, study, and interpret Scripture. In fact, he “spends much more time talking about the kind of person the study of the Scripture requires than about the intellectual knowledge he should possess”. Fr. Whiteford paraphrased the following six attitudes from St. Augustine:
One who loves God with his whole heart, and is empty of pride,
Is motivated to seek the Knowledge of God’s will by faith and reverence, rather than pride or greed,
Has a heart subdued by piety, a purified mind, dead to the world; and who neither fears, nor seeks to please men,
Who seeks nothing but knowledge of and union with Christ,
Who hungers and thirsts after righteousness,
And is diligently engaged in works of mercy and love.
Wow! That is a mighty tall order. I know that I am not perfect and fall short in several areas. But it begs this question to ask yourself, “How well do I get into the right ‘attitude’?”
(Would it be presumptuous of me to add that this is the same attitude we should have in our daily lives, let alone in reading Scripture or attending church?)
Today is the Feast of Saint Thomas, the Apostle. I have a personal affinity towards Thomas because it took me so long to find my faith. The skeptic in me would not let me step outside of my doubt and let myself be found. I needed a strange sequence of events, and more importantly, the influence of some very special people to help me find it.
Thomas, called Didymus, one of the Twelve,
was not with them when Jesus came.
So the other disciples said to him, “We have seen the Lord.”
But Thomas said to them,
“Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands
and put my finger into the nailmarks
and put my hand into his side, I will not believe.”
Now a week later his disciples were again inside
and Thomas was with them.
Jesus came, although the doors were locked,
and stood in their midst and said, “Peace be with you.”
Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here and see my hands,
and bring your hand and put it into my side,
and do not be unbelieving, but believe.”
Thomas answered and said to him, “My Lord and my God!”
Jesus said to him, “Have you come to believe because you have seen me?
Blessed are those who have not seen and have believed.”
John 20:24-31
Please take the time today to pray for those in your life that are in need of a little faith. The secular world has the tendency to push faith and spirituality into the shadows. Be a light for someone today!
Leslie Harpold wrote a nice, little piece of prose called “Possible Scenarios for Heaven”.
Whatever your fantasies about heaven are, her piece is a gentle reminder that we all have a little bit heaven here on earth now. Remember to make the most of it. Savor the moments.
Many Christians believe that faith alone is enough. I would like to rephrase that and say “just enough”, as in the bare minimum. Maybe they are right, but in light of my previous entry, I think that it is only half of the story.
Jesus gave us two commandments, love God first and foremost, and love your neighbor. (see Matthew 22:36-40) Faith alone seems to deal only with the first commandment. What about the second?
As I said else where, love of neighbor depends on love of God, and as you show your love of neighbor, that in turn is a way to build your love for God. And hopefully, as you build your love for God, you build your love for neighbor. It is a two-part cycle that builds upon and into itself.
What does it mean to love your neighbor? Well, as Jesus told us, “Love your neighbor as yourself.” (Matthew 22:39). On the most basic level, you wish your neighbor well. You don’t want anything bad to happen to them. It also means to forgive them of any transgressions that they might have done. I could go on, but I think Paul puts it more elegantly in 1 Corinthians 13.
Now all of that looks good on paper, but how do I love my neighbor out there on the street? One way is by works, or service to others. Service to others covers a very wide spectrum or continuum of actions. (Action is the key word in that sentence.) At one end, service to others is simple things, like holding the door open, letting someone cut over in traffic, praying for someone, etc. At the other end of the spectrum, is the complete dedication of ones life to serve others. Somewhere in the middle are things like volunteer work, marriage, raising children, and so on. Anything that helps someone else.
Color Spectrum
Service to others requires some level of sacrifice. Granted, some sacrifices are not that great. Holding the door open for someone simply means that you wait another three seconds before you can enter. The greater the sacrifice, the greater the expression of love for neighbor. And as Jesus told us, the ultimate expression of love for neighbor is to give your life up for another. (John 15:12-14)
All in all, the basic idea behind service to others is to put another person head of your own needs. I am reminded of a concept called “Third in Line”—God first, others second, me third. (see Mark 9:35)
Faith alone seems to apply to Jesus’ commandment to love God. Works, or service to others, is a way to fulfill Jesus’ second commandment, love your neighbor. Service to others is a way to maximize your love. By loving others, we are really loving Him.