Nobody said it would be easy!

Jesus tells us (Luke 13: 22-30) to be different, to not follow what everyone else is doing and go with the flow of society, but rather to stand strong in our faith and strive to be holy servants of God. How do we do this?

Ephesians 6:1-9 states “Honor your Father and Mother,” and “As slaves of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart, willingly serving the Lord and not men.” These are two great examples of ways to “strive to enter the narrow gate.”

Be the one who wakes up a few minutes early to begin your day with the Lord, amidst a crowd be courageous, and pray before your meal; take some time during the day to be in silence with the Lord, smile at whomever you meet along your path, pray for someone going through a hard time, spend time talking with a friend, call a family member and remind them how much you love them, thank God for the blessings in your life, do whatever it is God is calling YOU to do that day to serve God, and strive to be holy.

We can bring serving God and doing His will into our workplace. And that way, we can offer whatever we do on a daily basis to God, as our sacrifice to Him. United with the cross of Jesus, our simple, perhaps mundane tasks throughout the day can take on a redemptive value. That means God takes them and uses them for His purposes in a mysterious way throughout His body, the Church. That means your work can really count for something eternally important!

St. Paul bids us to "willingly serve the Lord and not men."  There may come a time when serving the Lord may be in conflict with serving men and this world. When this comes, be not afraid! Remember to Whom your first allegiance is, and do not disappoint our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. The Lord will give you the grace you need to discern His will, and then give you the courage to do it.

Jesus gives us a warning in the Gospel (Luke) that we must do this each and every day, because “some who are last who will be first and some who are first will be last.” We can’t be God’s servants on Sunday only and expect to enter through the narrow gate of salvation. We can’t have been God’s servants yesterday and choose not to from then on thinking that one day is good enough. To be a servant of the Lord is a way of life and a purposeful mindset.