Friday, July 22, 2011

Separating the wheat

Prayer for the Day

O Lord, help me with Your Grace to offer You a humble and contrite heart. O Lord Jesus, help me with my weeds!

Reflection

Jesus compared the kingdom of heaven to a man who sowed good seed in his field. (Matthew 13:24) Our all-loving God only sows the very best of seeds in the “field” of our hearts. But the weeds that are the influences of the world and the sinful desires that follow them attempt to change our focus from the life to come to the good times here.

There is a weed that closely resembles alfalfa that has become quite a nuisance in some areas of Iowa. This weed is unpalatable to livestock and no effective herbicide can kill it without also killing the desirable alfalfa. Before this weed blooms, it takes a careful eye to discern it is different from the alfalfa. But once the weed sends forth its yellow flowers (in the midst of the purple alfalfa blossoms), the distinction is clear. The untutored might think there are pretty wildflowers in the field, but others know better. If those plants proliferate, the alfalfa has to be destroyed.

We must differentiate ourselves from the weeds that we allow into the field of our hearts before they proliferate by obeying the simple commands Jesus gave us; to love God with our whole heart, mind, soul and strength and to love one another as Jesus loves us.

We must hope, pray and strive with all our might, so that the harvest of the good wheat in our hearts is sufficient for eternal life. Only God's grace through Jesus Christ can accomplish this, then we might be able to "offer God a sacrifice of praise"(Psalm 50:14A) that is acceptable and appropriate.

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"I demand from you deeds of mercy, which are to arise out of love for Me. You are to show mercy to your neighbors always and everywhere. You must not shrink from this or try to excuse or absolve yourself from it.

I am giving you three ways of exercising mercy toward your neighbor:
the first — by deed, the second — by word, the third — by prayer. In these three degrees is contained the fullness of mercy, and it is an unquestionable proof of love for Me. By this means a soul glorifies and pays reverence to My mercy.

Many souls ... are often worried because they do not have the material means with which to carry out an act of mercy. Yet spiritual mercy, which requires neither permissions nor storehouses, is much more meritorious and is within the grasp of every soul.

If a soul does not exercise mercy somehow or other, it will not obtain My mercy on the day of judgment. Oh, if only souls knew how to gather eternal treasure for themselves, they would not be judged, for they would forestall My judgment with their mercy".