Do I have your attention?

 

God has varied ways to get the attention of certain persons, like ourselves.  The Angel appeared to Mary out of nowhere—actually, heaven.   Moses stumbled into a bush which burned.  Elijah heard whispers. Peter caught a boatload of fish and on and on.  Saul of Tarsus got knocked off of his horse.  I personally had recurring dreams.

The story of Saul’s conversion (Acts 9:1-22) on the road to Damascus is a constant reminder of the choice we make when we accept Jesus as our Savior.  Saul was on his way to destroy and kill Christians, “breathing murderous threats to the brothers and sisters of Christ.”  But while he was on his own mission, set by his own expectations and goals, Christ revealed a key flaw in Saul’s plans: Saul’s path wasn’t up to Saul to determine, but to God alone.  Many times during our days we become so wrapped up in our own life, dilemmas, crises or even pride that we forget our true calling of life.  It’s not that we should be glorified through our works, but for us to be transparent for God to shine through us.  Just as Saul was physically blinded by the bright light of Christ, he ironically then saw his purpose: to proclaim the Word of God and that only God can provide us with unconditional love, grace and salvation.

But how do we remove the pride and ego that blinds us from God’s grace?  I believe it comes from accepting that Jesus is the only way to live, and that without Him we’ll die of hunger and thirst (John 6:52-59).  Just as our physical body requires nourishments to survive, our spiritual body requires the same satiation needed to nurture our faith.  To fully accept Christ’s Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity in the Eucharist is to know and ultimately believe that we are weak and defenseless by ourselves.  

Men alone can’t save themselves, but only through the love of God.  When we can come to terms with our imperfections and tell God in regular confessions that, “I’m nowhere near perfect, but that’s okay because You love me no matter what,” then we can truly begin to live for the perfect and wonderful purpose that is Christ.  

Praise to the Lord, not because we’re filled with flaws and weaknesses, but because we’re the only beings created in the pure image of God (Genesis 1:27, James 3:9).  It doesn’t matter if we’re in the depressions or the “highs” of our lives, we can know that we’ll always be taken care of.  God may use the mysterious and the unknown to make wonders out of our life. All we have to do is to open our eyes and look within our heart.