Blessed Are Those Who Hear His Call

Prayer-Soldier

Blessed Are Those Who Hear His Call

Scripture:

And you shall anoint Jehu, the son of Namsi, to be king over Israel: and Eliseus, the son of Saphat, of Abelmeula, you shall anoint to be prophet in your room.

And Elias departing from thence, found Eliseus, the son of Saphat, plowing with twelve yoke of oxen: and he was one of them that were plowing with, twelve yoke of oxen: and when Elias came up to him, he cast his mantle upon him. And he forthwith left the oxen, and ran after Elias, and said: Let me, I pray you, kiss my father and my mother, and then I will follow you. And he said to him: Go, and return back: for that which was my part, I have done to you. And returning back from him, he took a yoke of oxen, and killed them, and boiled the flesh with the plow of the oxen, and gave to the people, and they ate: and rising up, he went away, and followed Elias, and ministered to him. ( 1 Kings 19:16, 19-21 )

Stand fast and be not held again under the yoke of bondage. For you, brethren, have been called unto liberty. Only make not liberty an occasion to the flesh: but by charity of the spirit serve one another. For all the law is fulfilled in one word: you shall love your neighbor as yourself. But if you bite and devour one another: take heed you be not consumed one of another. I say then: Walk in the spirit: and you shall not fulfill the lusts of the flesh. For the flesh lusts against the spirit: and the spirit against the flesh: For these are contrary one to another: so that you do not the things that you would. But if you are led by the spirit, you are not under the law. ( Galatians 5:1, 13-18 )

And it came to pass, when the days of his assumption were accomplishing, that he steadfastly set his face to go to Jerusalem. And he sent messengers before his face: and going, they entered into a city of the Samaritans, to prepare for him. And they received him not, because his face was of one going to Jerusalem. And when his disciples, James and John, had seen this, they said: Lord, will you that we command fire to come down from heaven and consume them? And turning, he rebuked them, saying: you know not of what spirit you are. The Son of man came not to destroy souls, but to save.

And they went into another town. And it came to pass, as they walked in the way, that a certain man said to him: I will follow you wheresoever you go. Jesus said to him: The foxes have holes, and the birds of the air nests: but the Son of man has no where to lay his head. But he said to another: Follow me. And he said: Lord, suffer me first to go and to bury my father. And Jesus said to him: Let the dead bury their dead: but go you and preach the kingdom of God. And another said: I will follow you, Lord; but let me first take my leave of them that are at my house. Jesus said to him: No man putting his hand to the plow and looking back is fit for the kingdom of God. (Luke 9:51-62)

Reflection:

Blessed are those who are called by Him, for the path He desires for us to travel is blessed. We may hesitate to respond to Him because of what we believe to be our cares within the world, but we must not place worldly concerns ahead of where He seeks to lead our spirit.

It is right that we should tend to family, the afflicted and the less fortunate among us; but we must not look back when we hear His call, for as we respond to Him, He will guide us in how we may care, not only for our loved ones, but all who cross our path. Let us, then, put an end to our old ways, the cares of the world, and look to where He seeks to lead us so we may help fulfill His plan of mercy and love.

Our Creator gives us free will as to the choices we make, but in our freedom comes responsibility. We are tempted to believe that freedom yields to us whatever we wish to do, but we must also see the consequences for failing His commandments in terms of how we may offend God as well as the harm we cause to others. As we succumb to dark emotions and selfish desires, we do not fulfill His commandments to love. In our weakness, let us ask for His strength, for as we follow His course, we not only enrich our life, but the lives of those who cross our path.

Though we may be tempted to wish vengeance for persecutions and perceived wrongs brought upon us, Jesus taught us that we must pray and minister, especially to our enemies. (Matthew 5:21-26, 38-48, Romans 12:17-21) In so doing, we work to fulfill the second of the greatest commandments (Matthew 22:36-40, Mark 12:28-34, Luke 10:25-2 Cool

, but we must not forget the first, to love God with all our heart, our mind and our soul.

We must be mindful that if He calls us from our endeavors, He has a purpose for us to fulfill. We may be tempted to look back, but as we do, we fail to trust in His plan. We fail to trust that He will provide. He does not call us to abandon those to whom we may currently minister, rather, we must trust that as we respond to His call, He will guide us to whom He needs us to minister most. He will not abandon those we love, rather, we must trust He will minister to them as we do the work to which He calls us. Let us, then, open our hearts to His call and should we hear His voice, let us not look back, but let us look forward to the work He has for us through which we may demonstrate our love for Him as well as one another. As we do, we help to spread the love He has for all the children of His creation.

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