Luke 17:5-10
Healthy faith sometimes includes doubts. Like in any relationship, doubts arise: “Does this person really love me? Can I trust this person with my life?” We learn to trust—to believe.
With time our faith matures. The faith we had as a child should have increased, as we get older. Life-experience is the best teacher. We know from our own journey that sometimes having faith is easy and at other times, not so easy. A story: An old man was between two cliffs—so high that one could not see the bottom. A rope was tided from one cliff to the other. The man had a wheelbarrow and was going to walk on the rope with the wheelbarrow. Naturally he attacked the attention of a passerby. After telling the onlooker what he was going to do he asked him, “Do you believe that I can walk this rope with the wheelbarrow in front of me?” “Yes”, said the spectator. “I believe in you.” Then the old man said, “If you really have faith, get in the wheelbarrow.” That’s how our life feels some times—like we are in the wheelbarrow. We know that God is not going to allow us to fall—at least not the way we think. We get hurt, we get sick, eventually we die—but we will never go down the cliff because God has us in His hands. He’s taking care of us. Yes, bad things happen to good people but there’s always a purpose—usually to strengthen our faith. Faith opportunities are present every day. Our tendency is to control—to call the shots. All of us have difficulty surrendering to God’s will, because we think that we know what’s good for us. The majority of our prayers are full of petitions telling God what we want Him to do. Certainly God understands our limitations, never gets angry, never looses patience with us.
Our life already belongs to God. We spend a lifetime getting ready to hand ourselves back to Him. Meanwhile, we can get caught between a lot of negative energy—with evil tempting us at every turn. Satan is always ready to distract us. He’s the liar who presents the illusion that we don’t need anybody, especially God. The illusion that God is not happy with us and will one day punish us for every sin we have committed. Satan does not want us to have faith. He wants us to doubt our self worth. That’s one reason for depression, which is anger tuned inward. We get angry about the past but can do nothing to change it.
God on the other hand offers us forgiveness. Where would we be without forgiveness? Where would we be without God’s mercy? We can easily forget who is the Master and who are the servants. Lots of folks spend much energy arguing with the Lord. Some get discouraged because according to their perception, God does not answer their prayers. Others become frustrated to the point of losing faith. However, the Good News is that God never looses faith is us—never looses faith in humanity. In spite of all of our mistakes, the Lord continues to believe in us. Proof—we have His Real Presence. The Blessed Sacrament is the New and Everlasting Covenant that cannot be destroyed because God is holding up His side and our side. God sits us at the table and tends to our needs—in His way—in His time. Usually we are busy looking at our sins or concerned about the future sins. Christ invites us to the present moment. Grace is all around. His blessings far outnumber whatever negativity is in our life.
God has made a promise—to forgive us, to take care of us and to bring us to the heavenly kingdom. Our response is to believe that God will never stop loving us.
Healthy faith sometimes includes doubts. Like in any relationship, doubts arise: “Does this person really love me? Can I trust this person with my life?” We learn to trust—to believe.
With time our faith matures. The faith we had as a child should have increased, as we get older. Life-experience is the best teacher. We know from our own journey that sometimes having faith is easy and at other times, not so easy. A story: An old man was between two cliffs—so high that one could not see the bottom. A rope was tided from one cliff to the other. The man had a wheelbarrow and was going to walk on the rope with the wheelbarrow. Naturally he attacked the attention of a passerby. After telling the onlooker what he was going to do he asked him, “Do you believe that I can walk this rope with the wheelbarrow in front of me?” “Yes”, said the spectator. “I believe in you.” Then the old man said, “If you really have faith, get in the wheelbarrow.” That’s how our life feels some times—like we are in the wheelbarrow. We know that God is not going to allow us to fall—at least not the way we think. We get hurt, we get sick, eventually we die—but we will never go down the cliff because God has us in His hands. He’s taking care of us. Yes, bad things happen to good people but there’s always a purpose—usually to strengthen our faith. Faith opportunities are present every day. Our tendency is to control—to call the shots. All of us have difficulty surrendering to God’s will, because we think that we know what’s good for us. The majority of our prayers are full of petitions telling God what we want Him to do. Certainly God understands our limitations, never gets angry, never looses patience with us.
Our life already belongs to God. We spend a lifetime getting ready to hand ourselves back to Him. Meanwhile, we can get caught between a lot of negative energy—with evil tempting us at every turn. Satan is always ready to distract us. He’s the liar who presents the illusion that we don’t need anybody, especially God. The illusion that God is not happy with us and will one day punish us for every sin we have committed. Satan does not want us to have faith. He wants us to doubt our self worth. That’s one reason for depression, which is anger tuned inward. We get angry about the past but can do nothing to change it.
God on the other hand offers us forgiveness. Where would we be without forgiveness? Where would we be without God’s mercy? We can easily forget who is the Master and who are the servants. Lots of folks spend much energy arguing with the Lord. Some get discouraged because according to their perception, God does not answer their prayers. Others become frustrated to the point of losing faith. However, the Good News is that God never looses faith is us—never looses faith in humanity. In spite of all of our mistakes, the Lord continues to believe in us. Proof—we have His Real Presence. The Blessed Sacrament is the New and Everlasting Covenant that cannot be destroyed because God is holding up His side and our side. God sits us at the table and tends to our needs—in His way—in His time. Usually we are busy looking at our sins or concerned about the future sins. Christ invites us to the present moment. Grace is all around. His blessings far outnumber whatever negativity is in our life.
God has made a promise—to forgive us, to take care of us and to bring us to the heavenly kingdom. Our response is to believe that God will never stop loving us.
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