Catholic

Who am I that God should be generous toward me?

English: Saint paul arrested

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“I am the least of the apostles, unworthy to be called an apostle, because I have persecuted the church of God. But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me was not in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them, though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me” (1 Corinthians 15:9-10).

It is amazing how humble the apostle Paul had become after his conversion. A zealous tax collector by trade, Saul wreaked havoc on the early Church. He was hated and feared by many. Yet God saw it fit to grant him favor and used him to grow the Church.

But Paul understood that he was not worthy of God’s grace and generosity and neither do you nor I, or anyone else in this world. “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). In a letter to the Church in Ephesus, Paul exhorts the Church that salvation is not earned; It’s a gift from God. Here is what Paul writes: “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast” (Ephesians 2:8-9).

Who do you know that would give you a gift for doing nothing?  It is hard to find one person, yet that’s exactly what Jesus did! Furthermore, when you look at your life and compare it to God’s life, it becomes quite overwhelming and unfathomable to realize that you are a recipient of His love. When you compare your sins, your failures, and your defeats with His holiness, goodness, and righteousness, it can prompt you to ask, “Who am I that God should generous toward me?”

Still  as hard as it might be to fully comprehend, the fact remains that the Creator of all things, the omnipotent God has sent His Son, Jesus Christ into this world and then into your life. Believe it or not, “little insignificant you and me” are recipients of Almighty God’s all-encompassing, all-embracing, goodness, kindness and generosity in Jesus Christ.

God, in His mercy and grace, delights in giving the highest to the lowliest, the greatest to the smallest, the fullest to the emptiest, and the mightiest to the weakest.

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Are you burdened with the weight of unforgiveness?

English: White tulips

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For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you, but if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses” (Matthew 6:15-15).

One weight that God does not want you to carry is the weight of unforgiveness. Yet many in the body of Christ find it difficult to forgive. Unforgiveness not only affects your spiritual growth, but it also weighs heavily on your emotional and physical well-being.

The apostle Peter, a faithful disciple of Jesus Christ, and a stalwart of the early Church, struggled with the weight of unforgiveness. He hated the Gentiles. He referred to them as common and unclean. He even refused to preach the gospel to them. There is no evidence that the apostle Peter ever reconcile his differences with the Gentiles.

In the book of Matthew chapter 18:21-22, Jesus uses Peter’s struggle to teach us how to forgive. If we followed His instructions the world will be a better place:

Then came Peter to him, and said, Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? Till seven times?

Jesus saith unto him, I say not unto thee, until seven times: but, until seventy times seven

Unforgiveness is an attitude of the heart that abides outside the law of love. To walk in forgiveness is to walk in great spiritual freedom. Your heart is light when it does not carry grudge, bitterness, or resentment. To forgive does not mean that you agree with the offence that someone has committed, or that you support it in any way.

To forgive means that you choose to release the judgment you are carrying toward someone, even though that person did something that was unkind or unfair. The choice to forgive is not based on fairness or justice, but on mercy and grace. Mercy triumphs over judgment when you choose to forgive. Jesus did not carry any grudge against the people who nailed Him to the cross. Instead, He showed mercy by saying; “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do” (Luke 23:34).

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The reason for the Cross

Jesus Christ Crucifix

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“The law is only a shadow of the good things that are coming—not the realities themselves. For this reason it can never, by the same sacrifices repeated endlessly year after year, make perfect those who draw near to worship. Otherwise, would they not have stopped being offered? For the worshipers would have been cleansed once for all, and would no longer have felt guilty for their sins. But those sacrifices are an annual reminder of sins. It is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.

Therefore, when Christ came into the world, he said:

“Sacrifice and offering you did not desire,
but a body you prepared for me;
with burnt offerings and sin offerings
you were not pleased.
Then I said, ‘Here I am—it is written about me in the scroll—
I have come to do your will, my God.“

First he said, “Sacrifices and offerings, burnt offerings and sin offerings you did not desire, nor were you pleased with them”—though they were offered in accordance with the law. Then he said, “Here I am, I have come to do your will.” He sets aside the first to establish the second. And by that will, we have been made holy through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once for all” (Hebrews 10:1-10)

Man by himself cannot deal with his own guilt or sin problem. He must have help from the outside.

In order to forgive himself, he must have forgiveness from the one he has offended. Yet man is unworthy to ask God for forgiveness.

That then is the reason for the cross. The cross did what sacrificed lambs could not do. It erased our sins, not for a year, but for eternity. The cross did what man could not do. It granted us the right to talk with, love, and even live with God.

You can’t do that by yourself. I don’t care how many worship services you attended or good deeds you do. Your goodness is insufficient. You can’t be good enough to deserve forgiveness. Not me, not you, not anyone! The Bible states in Romans 3:23 “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God.”

And that is why you and I need a savior in Jesus Christ. “For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit” (1 Peter 3:18).

God does not look at your possession; He looks at your Heart

English: Sacred Heart

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“Naked a man comes from his mother’s womb, and as he comes, so he departs. He takes nothing from his labor that he can carry in his hand” (Ecclesiastes 5:15).

Think for a moment about the things you own; like your house, your car, and the money you’ve saved. Think about your many assets and the stocks you’ve traded, the clothes and electronics toys you have purchased. Contrary to what some people think, there is nothing wrong about owning stuff. It is good to have stuff after all! But let me remind you that your stuff cannot save you–only Jesus can.

So while you are on your quest to owning as much stuff as you can get your hands on; bear in mind that your heavenly father says you are to: “Seek first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you” (Matthew 6:33). “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for you treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” (Matthew 6:20).

“For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?” (Mark 8:36) It is a fact that your stuff isn’t really yours. They are loan to you; enjoy them while you can; because when you die you’ll take nothing with you. When one of the richest men in history, John D. Rockefeller, died, his accountant was asked, “How much did John D leave?” The accountant replied, “All of it.”

All that stuff is not yours, and it’s certainly not who you are. Who you are has nothing to do with the clothes you wear or the car you drive. Jesus said. “Life is not defined by what you have, even when you have a lot” (Luke 12:15). God does not know you as the fellow with the nice suits or the woman with the big house or the kid with the new bike. God knows your heart.

Mankind looks at your earthly possession, but God looks at your heart. In the end, it is the pureness of your heart that will define you when you appear before the judgment seat. Solomon spent much of his life pursuing riches but he soon realizes that all was vanity. “Yet when I surveyed all that my hands had done and what I had toiled to achieve, everything was meaningless, a chasing after the wind; nothing was gained under the sun” (Ecclesiastes 2:11).

Because Christ died, I can have victory over sin

“O sing unto the LORD a new song; for He hath done marvelous things: His right hand, and His holy arm, hath gotten Him the victory” (Psalm 98:1).

A mother once overheard her five-year-old daughter singing the popular hymn Victory in Jesus. The little girl finished the hymn with a slight change in the ending, “He loved me ‘ere I knew Him, and all my love is through Him”

When the mother heard the words “through Him,” something registered deep within her heart. Suddenly she realized that she is inadequate, and incapable of doing good. By her nature, like the rest of us, she has and continue to flirt with sin. But because Christ died on Calvary she can do all things through Him. So, in her own words she shares the following

English: Resurrection of Christ

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All my love is through Him, who is the very essence of love. This truth sets me free. I cannot love but He can. I cannot be patient, but He can. I cannot be kind, even if I want to. I cannot help but envy. I can neither swallow my pride nor control my anger. I cannot forgive or trust again and I cannot keep on giving–but Jesus can. Jesus can and does love others. Through Him it is possible for me. And that is victory.