All To Him

The WORD today (see http://usccb.org/bible/readings/090414.cfm) reminds me that everything in this earth belongs to God.

We came into this world with nothing, and we will leave with nothing. That's a fact. We came as a baby with nothing, not even clothes on. And when God calls us, we will not be able to bring anything, no matter how important that is, or how powerful we are in this world. Sometimes, as we get older, more successful and more influential, we forget this fact. There is a tendency to forget that we cannot bring anything when we die, yet we focus on gaining things of this world.

In the first reading and the psalm, we are reminded that indeed, everything belongs to God.

So let no one boast about human beings, for everything belongs to you,

Paul or Apollos or Cephas,

or the world or life or death,

or the present or the future:

all belong to you, and you to Christ, and Christ to God

R. (1) To the Lord belongs the earth and all that fills it

That being said, it is indeed foolish to spend our entire lives trying to gain things of this world which we cannot bring to the afterlife. What is wise is to work for the one who owns everything - God. It may be challenging and difficult, and it may not be financially or worldly rewarding, but it is worth it.

The gospel shows us a glimpse of how powerful Jesus is.

After he had finished speaking, he said to Simon,

“Put out into deep water and lower your nets for a catch.”

Simon said in reply,

“Master, we have worked hard all night and have caught nothing,

but at your command I will lower the nets.”

When they had done this, they caught a great number of fish

and their nets were tearing.

Jesus is more powerful than this world. And he is more powerful than us. Whatever we can accomplish in this life, we can accomplish more if Jesus is with us. He will take care of us as we work for Him, so may we heed his call and know the wise thing to do.

Father God,

Thank you for today. Thank you for another day to live. thank you for another chance to love and serve you. Thank you for reminding me that everything belongs to you, Lord. May I be wise and willing to work for you, to serve you, to love you - knowing that the reward in heaven is worth all of my efforts. In a special way I lift up to you all those celebrating their birthdays today, especially my mom Rose. Continue to bless her, and always remind her how great and loving you are. Amen.

Blessed day!

In Christ,

-g-