Rejecting God's Plan

God loves us and He has great plans in store for us. That’s a fact, because He said it (Jeremiah 29:11) and when God says it, we know that he means it. He is not a man who lies (Numbers 23:19).

However, God loves us too much that he gave us free will. The gospel today says that it is possible to reject God’s plans. However great His plans for us are, we still have the option to reject it, to have things done our way, to do what we want. Sometimes, when God’s plans seem to be different from ours, when his ways does not seem to fit ours, we reject God’s plans. We choose to do what we want, we choose to rebel, feeling that we deserve more, or that we should be enjoying life. God’s ways are not always fun or easy, but we need to have faith and trust in Him, especially when things get hard.

As Christmas draws near, it’s easy to be distracted. The so called “Holiday Rush” aka “holiday stress” can easily make us miss the whole point of the season. The people during the time of Jesus were busy with life, with the things of the world, that they missed Jesus coming into the world. Unfortunately, that is still happening today. We get distracted by decorating, buying gifts, parties, and even food… we complain about traffic, year end work, busy schedule. We feel stressed that we actually say “Hay Salamat, tapos na ang Pasko, makakapag pahinga na ako…” Sad, but true. By choosing to be OF the world, we choose to reject God’s plan. We unknowingly choose to ignore Christ and his great love for us. We forget to reflect, be thankful, and prepare ourselves for him. We forget to give our time, talent and treasure, not to our family and friends, but to people who need it the most, to people who can’t repay us back.

Pero kahit ganun, God loves us so much. It’s comforting to know how much he loves us! The first reading reiterates this.

Though the mountains leave their place
and the hills be shaken,
My love shall never leave you

Ang galing diba? People often hear this kind of profession of love from admirers or manliligaws, but of course, it cannot be taken literally, and people does not usually live up to this. However, when God says this, we know that it’s true. So kahit pa anong gawin mo, kahit gaano ka kapasaway, Mahal na Mahal ka ng Diyos. This Christmas, as we remember and put that to heart, may we also share that love to other people, people who need it the most, people who cannot repay us back.

Have a blessed day!