The Heart Which Burns for Us

Prayer-Soldier · Posted: Sun Feb 28, 2016 9:54 pm Post subject: The Heart Which Burns for Us

The Heart Which Burns for Us

Scripture:

Now Moses fed the sheep of Jethro his father in law, the priest of Madian: and he drove the flock to the inner parts of the desert, and came to the mountain of God, Horeb. and the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush: and he saw that the bush was on fire and was not burnt. And Moses said: I will go and see this great sight, why the bush is not burnt. And when the Lord saw that he went forward to see, he called to him out of the midst of the bush, and said: Moses, Moses. And he answered: Here I am. And he said: Come not nigh hither, put off the shoes from your feet: for the place whereon you stand is holy ground.

And he said: I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. Moses hid his face: for he durst not look at God. And the Lord said to him: I have seen the affliction of my people in Egypt, and I have heard their cry because of the rigor of them that are over the works: And knowing their sorrow, I am come down to deliver them out of the hands of the Egyptians, and to bring them out of that land into a good and spacious land, into a land that flows with milk and honey.

Moses said to God: Lo, I shall go to the children of Israel, and say to them: The God of your fathers has sent me to you. If they should say to me: What is his name? What shall I say to them? God said to Moses: I AM WHO AM. He said: Thus shall you say to the children of Israel: HE WHO IS, has sent me to you. And God said again to Moses: Thus shall you say to the children of Israel: The Lord God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you: This is my name for ever, and this is my memorial unto all generations. (Exodus 3:1-8A, 13-15)

For I would not have you ignorant, brethren, that our fathers were all under the cloud, and all passed through the sea. And all in Moses were baptized, in the cloud, and in the sea: And did all eat the same spiritual food, and all drank the same spiritual drink; (and they drank of the spiritual rock that followed them, and the rock was Christ.) But with most of them God was not well pleased: for they were overthrown in the desert. Now these things were done in a figure of us, that we should not covet evil things as they also coveted.

Neither do you murmur: as some of them murmured, and were destroyed by the destroyer. Now all these things happened to them in figure: and they are written for our correction, upon whom the ends of the world are come. Wherefore he that thinks himself to stand, let him take heed lest he fall. (1 Corinthians 10:1-6, 1012)

And there were present, at that very time, some that told him of the Galileans, whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices. And he answering, said to them: Think you that these Galileans were sinners above all the men of Galilee, because they suffered such things? No, I say to you: but unless you shall do penance, you shall all likewise perish. Or those eighteen upon whom the tower fell in Siloe, and slew them: think you, that they also were debtors above all the men that dwelt in Jerusalem? No, I say to you; but except you do penance, you shall all likewise perish.

He spoke also this parable: A certain man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard, and he came seeking fruit on it, and found none. And he said to the dresser of the vineyard: Behold, for these three years I come seeking fruit on this fig tree, and I find none. Cut it done therefore: why cumber it the ground? But he answering, said to him: Lord, let it alone this year also, until I dig about it, and dung it. And if happily it bear fruit: but if not, then after that you shall cut it down. (Luke 13:1-9)

Reflection:

Some ask, how are we to recognize God if we are unable to see Him? How are we to know God when He is so elusive to us? They fail to see He walks with them always. They fail to see the many ways He works within their lives. They suffer from the blindness brought forth by the evil one and the ways of the world. If they but reach to Him in prayer, He will not deny them. He will open the eyes of the heart which seeks Him so that they may see the blessings of His Word.

Some are tempted to ask for signs, but so many have discounted and ignored the reports of His miracles. Some clamor with desire to see the burning bush, yet, they fail to see the heart burning before them, filled with love for all the children of His creation. The real question we each must answer is how are we to know Him if we do not reach out to Him, if we do not invite Him into our lives, if we do not seek to understand Him through the study of His Word, if we do not spend time with Him in prayer? He seeks to reveal himself to each one of us, but do we choose to keep closed our eyes?

The blind of heart do not see God, just as they do not see the evil one who lurks to ensnare them from the darkness. Some are tempted to believe that if they deny the existence of God, they also deny the existence of the evil one. The evil one cares not about what we believe about him as long as we remain blind to God.

To save us from our blindness, He sent His prophets; but many ignored, spurned or even killed those whom God sent in warning. To save us from our blindness, He sent His only begotten Son. Some would heed, some would hear, some would have the blindness of their heart cured; but many would choose the comfort of their blindness. Still, He seeks to clean away that which obscures our sight. He receives the humble and the contrite. He heals the soul of those who believe in the One who died for their sins. He opens the hearts of the faithful so that they may be cured of the blindness brought forth by the world.

The fruit of what we do reveals who we are and what we choose to see. As we bring harm to one another, we bring harm to the One who died for us, for it is at His heart we strike as we strike at the children of His creation. As we bring joy and hope to another, we bring joy and hope to the One who rose for us, for it is His love which we share.

As we look at our days, we should ask ourselves; what have we done, what have we accomplished, what have we contributed? Have we brought joy or sorrow? Have we wiped away a tear? Have we brought forth a laugh? Have we looked after ourselves at the expense of others? Have we offered comfort to the sick, fed the hungry, clothed the naked, offered an ear to help another walk the path? Have we struck out with the sword of the tongue or have we shared words of love and prayer? As others receive us, do we lift their spirits through the sharing of His love and peace or do we bring concern and trouble to the places we walk? He will listen to what we profess, but He will know us more by what we do. (Matthew 25:31-46)

The time during which we choose the place of our eternity slips past us each day. We must ask ourselves, how will we be prepared? Will we be the barren tree or the one which nourishes? Will we beg for another year by which to bring forth good fruit or will we be found only to be fuel for the eternal fire? We are tempted to believe the moment of our account is well into the future, but we do not know the hour or the day. We do not know how close the moment is to us where all we have done and all we have failed to do lies before us, defining us before Him. We only know the day is coming where those with hearts open to see Him shall rejoice as they are brought forth to His light and those who choose to remain blind shall be lost forever to the darkness.

May the peace and blessings of the Lord be with you always,
Prayer Soldier