There’s no
better gift than to receive a card or letter or see a social media post letting
us know that we made a difference in someone’s life and blessed them in ways we
likely would never have known. That’s
what St. Paul was up to when he wrote to the church in Ephesus, letting them
know that he was so edified by their faith and their love—so brought to
joy—that he had “never stopped thanking God” for them and remembering them when
he prayed; indeed, Paul was so grateful that he told them exactly what he prayed
for on their behalf (Ephesians 1:15-23).
First, he
prayed that God would give them the “wisdom and insight” to know God because if they know
everything but don’t know God, they don’t know the one thing they really need
to know for a good and meaningful life. Second,
Paul asked that God enlighten them so that they grasp “the
great hope” to which
God not only had called them, but also wants for them: the unbroken joy and
unsurpassable love that’s found in everlasting communion with God and the
saints. Third, Paul prayed that they
recognize the special gifts that God had entrusted to every member of the
church at Ephesus; that they should recognize and claim those gifts, and they
should use them generously in serving others, whether in the church or in the
wider community. Finally, when Paul urged
them to embrace “the immeasurable power” of God that was at work in them, he
was reminding them why they should never feel hopeless or defeated. They should be bold and courageous in their
faith, in their love, and in all the good they did because no matter what life
might throw at them, God is always with them and working through them;
therefore, they could do far more than they ever imagined. Paul knew that was true because they had
already done so for him.
Of course,
this letter of thanksgiving to the Ephesians is also meant for us, in our
lives, today. The best way for us to
receive it is to take to heart everything St. Paul says, and live our lives in
a holy manner pleasing to God.
In contrast
to St. Paul’s letter, there are modern-day ‘evangelists’ who continue to post
to the various social media platforms accusatory memes or messages that warn us
if we don’t “like” and forward their very important, spiritually relevant
message, we don’t acknowledge Jesus before others, as He told His disciples: "I tell you,
everyone who acknowledges me before others, the Son of Man will acknowledge
before the angels of God. But whoever
denies me before others will be denied before the angels of God." (Luke 12:8-12)
What is
denial of the Son of God? Surely it
isn't just saying the words: "Jesus is not the Incarnate Son of God!"
Rather, it involves behaving like Jesus'
teachings are irrelevant.
There's an
old saying, "Actions speak louder than words!" Meaning, we must be careful that our behavior
in no way contradicts what we say we believe.
In order to call ourselves Christians, we must acknowledge Jesus as the
Christ, the Son of God, the Savior. Some days, it will be easy.
Going to church
each week we feel comfortable calling ourselves Christians and naming Jesus as
our savior. We wear our crosses and go
to Bible study where it’s easy to call Jesus the Son of God, where we feel
comfortable pronouncing our faith.
But do we
treat Jesus with the same reverence when we go out on the weekends? Do we acknowledge Christ when we’re out with
our friends? Do we defend His name when
asked why we remain in the church? Do we
call ourselves Christians when it’s not comfortable or the popular thing to do?
Sometimes
the right choice is not always the popular one. There will always be instances in our lives in
which we find ourselves comfortable, then uncomfortable. If you called someone your best friend
yesterday, would you stand up for him if you found out he was being bullied
today? Would you say you were proud of
your son one day, then bail him out of jail the next?
We’re called
to treat these situations just as we are to treat our relationship with Jesus. We’re not called to be like the disciples who were
with Him when He was popular then against Him when He was a criminal. We’re called to be like John and call Him our
savior until the bitter end. It will be
difficult. In order to nurture our
relationship with Him, we might challenge ourselves to implement daily prayer. We must live the gospel in our words and
actions, treating the least of God's people as we wish to be treated. Perhaps most importantly, we must defend him
in conversation when called to do so. Like
many things in life, being a Christian isn’t always easy, but rewarding in the
end. If we want to be acknowledged on
judgment day, it’s our duty to acknowledge Jesus as God—though not necessarily
by “liking” an accusatory Facebook or Instagram post.
When we hear
any accusatory voice, we should never listen to it. Not at all.
Never ever. It's the sound of
condemnation. If it makes you feel
belittled, unworthy of love, undeserving of good things, unable to receive
forgiveness, that's not the merciful Father speaking.
Whenever God
speaks to us, He speaks to whatever is true in us, whatever is noble, what is
right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent, and praiseworthy in us.
On the other
hand, if the voice disagrees with our Lord’s nature and what He’s said about you,
reject it. It's Satan accusing you. And he's a liar. Jesus called him the father of lies (John
8:44). Satan wants to undermine our
relationship with God the Father so that he can become our spiritual father.
For example,
our loving Father would never say to us, "You're a sinner, therefore I do
not love you." Or "You're a
failure." Or "You're not good
enough." Nor would He ever
communicate words of shame to us. The
Father created us as "good" (Genesis 1:26-31). We were made in the image of God and He always
sees the good in us. When He invites
repentance, it’s with encouragement, never shame.
There’s no
condemnation for us if we’re in Christ Jesus because He’s set us free from the
law of sin and the punishment of death. He
gave us His own Holy Spirit (Romans 8:1-2); therefore when the Father looks at
us, He sees the Holy Spirit and He sees our desire to grow in holiness. Even if that desire is nearly imperceptible, He
sees it. He smiles at us and embraces us
and affirms what is good in us.
Only those
who have no such desire should worry about condemnation. There are many who claim to believe in Jesus
but, lacking a desire to be holy, they don’t remain in Him. They don’t follow Him.
Remember that even demons believe in
Jesus—which is why they work so hard to pull us away from Him.
We don’t
have to go around being an “in-your-face” sort of Christian. But we do have to easily, freely,
transparently, and completely allow our faith and love of God shine forth, especially
when it’s uncomfortable and difficult.
Most likely all Christians hesitate in doing this. For that reason, the saints and martyrs are
great examples for us. But if they only
remain examples, then their example is not enough. We must live their witness and become the
next saint or martyr in the witness God calls us to live.
We should
reflect often upon whether we’re only inspired by the martyrs and saints or if we
actually imitate them. If it’s the
former, we should pray that their inspiring witness effects a powerful change
in our life.
Jesus said, "Truly
I tell you, people can be forgiven all their sins and every slander they utter,
but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven; they are
guilty of an eternal sin" (Mark 3:28-29).
Heaven is
only for the holy. The only unforgivable
sin is to reject the desire to be holy. No
one who deliberately rejects holiness will want to spend eternity with God and
the saints.
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