Faith is a measure of our success as Christians

The LORD bless you and keep you!  The LORD let his face shine upon you and be gracious to you!  The LORD look upon you kindly and give you peace!

As I read the Gospel (Luke 4:14-22) for today, I place myself in the synagogue as Jesus is reading the scroll with the passage from Isaiah (Isaiah 61:1-2).  I am mesmerized; amazed at His knowledge and teaching.   When He says “Today, in your hearing this Scripture is fulfilled”, I lose it.  I entered the synagogue with my family and friends skeptical about this man who used to live here, in this town, among us.  He never seemed to be special; he is just the carpenter’s son.  But now, my eyes fill with tears and I feel so unworthy to be in His presence, witnessing the divinity of Jesus.  I feel so blessed! 

….. back to the present.

Now that I profess to have faith, how do I know my profession is true?  St. John gives us a guideline in his letter to us (1 John 4:19–5:4). To paraphrase, in my own feeble way:

Faith is our best measure of success.  The successful person is the one who believes in Jesus.  Jesus was actually born.  He is our Savior by blood through His birth in human form and by His death.  Jesus is fully human, born as a baby from a human woman, and fully God.  Those who acknowledge His humanity and His divinity are the winners and their prize is eternal life.  Those who believe in God and Jesus and praise Him are blessed, and their children are blessed, and they are blessed with life everlasting.  

Those who believe in Jesus must also follow His Commandments and love their neighbor as they are loved themselves by Him.  When we believe in God, when we believe in Jesus, we win.  And our prize is the blessing of our faith, healing, and life everlasting.