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John
testified to [Jesus] and cried out, saying, "This was he of whom I
said, 'The one who is coming after me ranks ahead of me because he
existed before me.'" From his fullness we have all received, grace in
place of grace, because while the law was given through Moses, grace
and truth came through Jesus Christ. No one has ever seen God. The only
Son, God, who is at the Father's side, has revealed him.
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The
Goo Goo Dolls begin their song "Before It's Too Late" this way: "I
wander through fiction to look for the truth
buried beneath all the lies, and I stood at a distance to feel who you
are,
hiding myself in your eyes. And hold on
before it’s too late until we leave this behind. Don’t
fall; just be who you are—it’s all that
we need in our lives. And the risk that
might break you is the one that would save. A life you don’t
live is still lost. So stand on the edge with me. Hold back
your fear and see nothing is real till it’s gone." It seems to be
a troubled love relationship that they are singing of,
and the man in the relationship wants the lady of his life to stay with
him,
and together make it last. For him, it will be all that he needs.
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Within the context of
the love song "Before It's Too Late" from the group Goo Goo
Dolls, the man in the
relationship sings to his friend that
being who we are is all that we need in life. Indeed it is part of
all we need, but
there are other concepts that can fit the category as well. In fact,
there are many things
in our lives, anyone of which can be made the most important, and be
considered “all that we need."
Certainly, the fact that we need to be able to live physically well, that is, to have the wherewithal for good health to grow, is necessary, and indeed, in one sense, all that we need. Likewise we have to grow psychologically, to be people who are able to mature well. We need good and caring families, for example. We need to know who we are, the thought of the song "Before It's Too Late." We need the ability to make friends and to know the ideals that help us make friends. But, as we think about "all that we need," the thought of God should also enter our minds. John the Baptist recognized that Jesus was all that people needed, proclaiming him to be God. Anyone searching for maturity must be in touch with the sense that there is someone bigger than we are who is directing us, someone or something in whom we have placed so much confidence that we want to learn from such a force. When we learn to value that force and to make it a part of our lives, it is indeed all that we need. |
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THOUGHT
In your opinion, what are the four or five
things that can be thought of as "all that we need" in life?
PRAYER Good
and gracious God, we believe that you are all that we need in life.
Your Son testified to you, and the prophets of our Christian world have
testified to him. Help us accept your Spirit in our lives by truly
choosing you and your Son, and following you as best we can. Be with
us, we pray.
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©2007
Capuchin Province of Mid-America
Fr. Mike Scully is a member of the Capuchin Province of Mid-America |