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Jesus said, “Therefore I tell you, do not
worry about your life, what
you will eat or drink, or about your body, what you will wear. Is
not life
more than food and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds
in the
sky; they do not sow or reap, they gather nothing into barns, yet your
heavenly
Father feeds them. Are not you more important than they? Can
any of
you by worrying add a single moment to your life-span? Why are you
anxious
about clothes? Learn from the way the wild flowers grow. They
do not
work or spin. But I tell you that not even Solomon in all his
splendor was
clothed like one of them. If God so clothes the grass of the
field, which
grows today and is thrown into the oven tomorrow, will he not much more
provide
for you, O you of little faith?”
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"Do you hear me," the
man in the
relationship begins the song, "I’m talking to
you across the water across the deep blue ocean under the open sky?" And the lady answers, "I hear you in my
dreams, I feel your whisper across the sea, I keep you with me in my
heart: you
make it easier when life gets hard." And
they both sing: "I’m lucky I’m in love with my best friend,
lucky to have been
where I have been, lucky to be coming home again."
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Jason
Mraz and Colbie Caillat sing that it is luck that has developed their
friendship, luck that has brought them together and enabled them to be
in love with one another and to be best friends. But "being lucky" is
only one way of
describing it.
The Christian understanding of things is that there is no such thing as luck. In fact, Jesus points out such a fact even in nature. God is truly in charge of everything that happens. God takes care of the grass of the field and the birds in the sky and the beautiful flowers that no human being can create. How much more will God be interested in human beings, taking care of them, directing their lives toward the good. Everything fits into the pattern. God will work with us as we try to accomplish what we want to accomplish, giving us the chance to choose what we want. At the same time, God allows things to happen in our lives which change, alter or enhance the desires we have, thus bringing about the make-up of our lives. It seems as though we are choosing, and at times it seems as though we are governed by outside forces that have nothing to do with what we want. But what is actually happening is that God is working with us as we go about our choices at every juncture in our growth. And it is all for our good. There are many in our world who do not agree. Things for them simply are not good. Judging that the world or God or life is out to get them, they become quite sour with their living. For them, it is not God who is setting up a good plan; it is a good life that only might have been and never was. What happens to us is a matter of perspective. "Lucky" may be one way of thinking about it. The better way may be that God is always looking out for us. |
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THOUGHT
Do most people believe
that God is directly active in their lives? Yes or no and
why?
PRAYER Good
and gracious
God, you are a force in our lives. At times, we do not believe it, and
we wonder whether you are even with us or not. May we always be aware
of your presence and lead our lives accordingly. 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 |