We Always Have a Choice

The current state of world events has challenged practically every person on earth to understand and relate to their daily habits, customs, rituals and activities in new and different ways. There are innumerable stories of hardship, scarcity, fear and even death. I would venture to say that there is not one person who will read this that has not had at least one major disruption and perhaps many to their livelihood and personal relationships.

This moment in time has great potential to lead us into a deep and abiding relationship with Christ. In fact, it has been said by those more spiritually attuned than I that great faith can only arise in suffering and powerlessness. Such times present us with a two edged sword regarding our faith and spirituality. Suffering can either lead us to bitterness, selfishness and isolation or it can make us wise, compassionate, empathetic and totally open to the will and love of Christ.

The two great motivators that propel us toward a belief in God are fear and love. Fear can be a great motivator to engage in religion. We can fear punishment, abandonment rejection and isolation in our understanding of who and what God is. I must admit these negative concepts and ideas often work as reasons to believe in God. Truly though, fear only goes so far in leading us to God. Just as often, fear leads us to reject our relationship with God and can even cause us to search for fulfillment and meaning in all the selfish and negative things the world has to offer.

An adult and maturing faith can only be built on the foundation of love. It would be an epic and ongoing venture to try and express all the ways that God loves us and cares for us. On Sunday April 20, we celebrated the Feast of Divine Mercy. Christ promises unlimited grace and mercy if we but believe and enter into the loving relationship he has invited us to. His love and mercy conquers all fear and pain. Let us all “fall into the hands of the living God” (Hebrews 10:31). It leads us to new life, and inspires us to share this Divine love with others. His love is not limited by any of the prejudices that people and the world put up as roadblocks. Christ’s love and mercy is given to us freely. Just ask, and it is yours for eternity.