Friday, March 2, 2012

We decide


The readings today remind us that ultimately, we are the ones who decide what will happen to us.
The first reading says that if a wicked man turns from his wicked ways, none of his sins will be remembered, and he will live. On the other hand, if a good person turns bad, none of his good acts will be remembered, and he shall die. Seems harsh, right? But God says it clearly, “Is it my way that is unfair, rather are not your ways unfair?”  God is not unfair. He just gives us what we want. If we live our lives doing bad things, kahit may pa konti konting good things, it’s short of saying that we are not choosing what God wants, kaya God will give us that, eternity without Him.
We may think that out good acts get piled up – savings kung baga, na pwedeng pagkuhanan kapag kinailangan. We may think that good works compensate for our sins. God says it doesn’t work that way. IF we are thinking that way, may mali nga sa atin. We should do good, not so we have a “buffer” when we need it, but because we want to please God, because we love him. If our intention is different, well, something is wrong.
The gospel takes it to a higher level. As we praise and worship God through our actions, he wants us to go beyond the norms. Kung nagagawa mo na ang tama, take it one step higher. As we worship God, he wants us to be pure and clean, he wants us to be free from evil thoughts and feelings. Again, worshipping him does not free us from our responsibilities. Rather, as we worship him, we realize that we should consistently do good and be good, so that we can worship him wholeheartedly, so that we can make him happy and give glory to him.
What are the things that are bothering you? Are there issues you need to resolve before being fully able to worship God? Are you doing something about it? Do you do good works to compensate for the bad, or do you do them purely out of love for God?
May we always remember that we will decide, by our actions, by the way we live our life on earth, where we will be in eternity.

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