The Wealth We Squander and the Forgiveness We May Receive

Prayer-Soldier

The Wealth We Squander and the Forgiveness We May Receive

Scripture:

And the Lord said to Josue: This day have I taken away from you the reproach of Egypt. And the children of Israel abode in Galgal, and they kept the phase on the fourteenth day of the month, at evening, in the plains of Jericho: And they ate on the next day unleavened bread of the corn of the land, and frumenty of the same year. And the manna ceased after they ate of the corn of the land, neither did the children of Israel use that food any more, but they ate of the corn of the present year of the land of Chanaan. (Joshua 5:9A, 10-12)

If then any be in Christ a new creature, the old things are passed away, behold all things are made new. But all things are of God, who has reconciled us to himself by Christ; and has given to us the ministry of reconciliation. For God indeed was in Christ, reconciling the world to himself, not imputing to them their sins; and he has placed in us the word of reconciliation. For Christ therefore we are ambassadors, God as it were exhorting by us. For Christ, we beseech you, be reconciled to God. Him, who knew no sin, he has made sin for us, that we might be made the justice of God in him. (2 Corinthians 5:17-21)

Now the publicans and sinners drew near unto him to hear him. And the Pharisees and the scribes murmured, saying: This man receives sinners, and eats with them. And he spoke to them this parable, saying:

A certain man had two sons: And the younger of them said to his father: Father, give me the portion of substance that falls to me. And he divided unto them his substance. And not many days after, the younger son, gathering all together, went abroad into a far country: and there wasted his substance, living riotously. And after he had spent all, there came a mighty famine in that country; and he began to be in want. And he went and cleaved to one of the citizens of that country. And he sent him into his farm to feed swine.

And he would fain have filled his belly with the husks the swine did eat; and no man gave unto him. And returning to himself, he said: How many hired servants in the house of my father abound with bread, and I here perish with hunger? I will arise, and will go to my father, and say to him: Father, I have sinned against heaven, and before you: I am not worthy to be called your son: make me as one of your hired servants. And rising up he came to his father. And when he was yet a great way off, his father saw him, and was moved with compassion, and running to him fell upon his neck, and kissed him.

And the son said to him: Father, I have sinned against heaven, and before you, I am not now worthy to be called your son. And the father said to his servants: Bring forth quickly the first robe, and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet: And bring hither the fatted calf, and kill it, and let us eat and make merry: Because this my son was dead, and is come to life again: was lost, and is found. And they began to be merry. Now his elder son was in the field, and when he came and drew nigh to the house, he heard music and dancing:

And he called one of the servants, and asked what these things meant. And he said to him: Your brother is come, and your father has killed the fatted calf, because he has received him safe. And he was angry, and would not go in. His father therefore coming out began to entreat him. And he answering, said to his father: Behold, for so many years do I serve you, and I have never transgressed your commandment, and yet you have never given me a kid to make merry with my friends: But as soon as this your son is come, who has devoured his substance with harlots, you have killed for him the fatted calf.

But he said to him: Son, you are always with me, and all I have is yours. But it was fit that we should make merry and be glad, for this your brother was dead and is come to life again; he was lost, and is found. (Luke 15:1-3, 11-32)

Reflection:

We do not always see, as we experience events and moments of time, the ways the Lord works within our lives. We are often left asking what is happening, why now, why me or why us? We see the trial of the moment as a burden or perhaps an event we feel we might not be able to endure. When we look back upon our journey and reflect upon such times, we might see where we were nudged away from our current path. We might see a particular lesson we have learned which makes us wiser or stronger in spirit. We sometimes see someone who crossed our path, or our path crossed theirs, in a way that changes one or even both of us. We may see doors which close to us, but if we are honest, had we walked through such doors, we would not have walked toward Him. We may also see doors which were opened to us, and as we chose to walk through them, we brought forth blessings which by our sharing with others, also brought ourselves closer to Him.

We might be tempted to ask, what if, but only because we do not see the blessings of what is. In the midst of trial and tribulation, it is difficult to see the good which may come, but if we trust in Him, the trial shall pass and the blessings He desires for us will come. As we look for to where He leads us, we should not seek to measure by the blessings of this world, but by how we prepare ourselves to receive the blessings of the world to come. It will not be the wealth of the world which carries us forward, but the wealth of the heart. On our final day, He will not examine our bank accounts, rather, He will examine the accounts of our soul.

The question before us each day is not what more can we gain, but what have we learned? If we do not seek to learn from our days, our mistakes will produce ever greater consequences. If we allow Him to guide our hands, what will come will be blessings which we may share and through which our heart may grow. Though we may learn of the world, our most important pursuit is to learn of Him and what He asks of us as we travel our journey.

As we make our way, there is a voice which calls to us and a hand which beckons us. He waits patiently for us to listen. He rejoices when we seek Him in prayer. He is the One who can make us new. He is the One who can wash away that which stains our heart. He is the One who can lead us from the darkness to all the blessings of His light. If we listen with our hearts, if we reach out for His hand, He will not deny us, rather, He will embrace us; and as we accept Him, we open the doors through which His glory may be seen; the doors to the blessings and love we share with one another.

The evil one lies constantly in wait to lure us with temptations. Because of our weakness and our selfishness, we are seduced to paths of misery. We are seduced to spread darkness, not only across our path, but the paths of others. As we travel our journey, we believe that what we do yields satisfaction, but what we discover is an ever growing void of misery.

In our despair, all is not lost. Though we may have turned our back upon Him, He waits patiently for us to discover our mistakes so that we may seek to return to His embrace. Others may look upon us with disdain for what we have done or failed to do, but He will forgive and rejoice as we reach out to Him. If we ask Him in prayer, if it is our desire, if we are contrite; He will forgive us our sins and heal our soul. If we seek Him, He will lead us to how we may live to prepare for the time we may enter His kingdom. If we take His hand, He will guide us to blessings beyond the riches and burdens of the world. He will guide us to how we may share the wealth and joys of the heart. Let us, then, approach Him with a heart open to Him. Let us love Him with all of our being so that we may open our heart, mind and soul to receive the wisdom of His Word and the blessings of His love.

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