Is Loss Necessary?

~~~ Sirach 35:1-12 ~~~ Psalm 50 ~~~
~~~ Mark 10:28-31 ~~~

...there is no one who has given up house
 or brothers or sisters
or mother or father or children or lands
for my sake and for the sake of the Gospel
who will not receive a hundred times more 
now in this present age...

Reading this passage from Mark's gospel
causes one to scratch your head.
I have not had to give up my home.
I have not had to give up my loved ones.

The big question remains...
What would you be willing to give up?
As I have written here before, we tend to be
very attached to the things of this world.

Our world is what we know best.
Our world is what we love.
Our world is visible and tangible.

Many times we cry out...
Where are you God?

I cannot imagine giving up my home
 much less the family I love.

The whole concept seems so foreign
until I turn on the news.

So many people in areas around the world
 are being forced to leave their homes.
They are only being able to take with them what
they can carry in their vehicles or in their arms.

Jesus reveals that there will be persecutions
and eternal life in the age to come.

The beautiful fact about our heart is that healing
 is possible even when home and loved ones are lost.

Our God is a God of comfort and compassion.
He never leaves our side.
He gives us the strength to survive
all of our losses.

God alone is permanent...
all else is passing.
Follow Jesus and he will Bless you
in all situations.

It is necessary to loose this world
 before we can gain access to the heavenly world.

~~~ Peace ~~~

Hatred...Persecution...Endurance...Salvation

Memorial of Saint Benedict, Abbot

~~~ Hosea 14:2-10 ~~~ Psalm 51 ~~~ Matthew 10:16-23 ~~~

Earlier in this Gospel, Matthew writes
about the words we are to speak.
The Holy Spirit will give the right words to us.
The right words are not always received well...
in fact you may even be hated.
Hate is a really strong word. We use it in various negative contexts.
We 'hate' some foods, rude people, even certain colors.

Jesus is giving us a heads up...he says
you will be hated just because of his name.
So basically, before you say anything
 you will be hated just because you are a believer.
He doesn't say you might be hated he says you will be hated.
That one verse makes you pause a moment to stop and think.

You will be hated by all because of my name,

but whoever endures to the end will be saved.
When they persecute you in one town, flee to another.

Are you willing to be hated just because you want to believe in Jesus?
Why would someone knowingly
 put themselves in a situation to be hated?

But we cannot stop with that verse...
if you do not read the rest of the verse you miss the whole point.

The whole point being are you up to the task?
Can you tolerate the pain of being hated in order to attain salvation?

Being hated is something you can experience here and now.
It is the endurance that really counts.
Do you run away the first time someone
expresses their hatred against you for your beliefs?

Do you retaliate? Do you defend yourself?

When they persecute you in one town, flee to another.

Is Jesus telling us to run away?
Doesn't he want us to stand up and defend him?

Or is it more about getting the word
of our salvation out to as many people as possible?

Remember you will be given the words by the Holy Spirit.

Maybe one point about moving on is getting another chance
 to do a better job in the next town.

Every year at the beginning of the new school year,
even if I was teaching the same exact subjects,
I tried to make the lessons better,
 more interesting.

Every time you talk with someone about Jesus
 it will be better because you will be a stronger believer.

The more you speak of the goodness of God
the easier it will be the next time.

Speak the words placed in your heart; you cannot go wrong.
Rejection does not mean stop.
Rejection means move on and keep trying.
Let rejection roll off your back like water off a duck's back.

Blessed with words of wisdom from the Spirit.
~~~Peace~~~