Wednesday of Week 30 in Ordinary Time
Rm 8:26-30
Lk 13:22-30
“I do not know where you come from”
I recently spent some time at a club. Having not been there in a while, I proceeded to the counter and was asked to show my membership card. Having done so, I was allowed to go to the cafe for my lunch. That one particular card allowed me access to the club facilities; I could move around freely, have my food and drinks and use the gymnasium and swimming pools.
I must confess to occasionally having similar thoughts when it comes to the kingdom of heaven. I remember feeling smug having ‘gotten into the club’ as a Christian. It was when I was much older that I learned about God’s gift of Grace, but this learning/realisation gave me a conundrum; if God’s grace is a gift for us, and we can enter into heaven because of this grace, why would we ever find ourselves in a situation where our Lord would not be able to recognise us?
This puzzled me a lot.
I became a Christian in my early teens, and was brought to church by a neighbour. I was an only child, and grew up in an environment where there were no children. Going to church was, for me, a social event. I got to hang out with other kids my age, and there were lots of activities to while away my time.
Yet, in the environment of being in church, and despite the fact that I had started calling myself a Christian, I did not have a relationship with our God. Praying and attending services (it was a Protestant church) were things to do, because it was something everyone did. When others closed their eyes and prayed, I closed my eyes in order to fit in.
I suspect this was what our Lord Jesus is talking about. It is too easy to call ourselves Christians. On the surface, no one would be able to tell, but internally, there may not have been any conversion at all. Under such situations, one never actually received Grace in its truest form. I must stress that I am merely sharing my own musings here!
How do we demonstrate true conversion? Essentially, I believe that this change must be reflected in the relationships and behaviours of us as Christians. Given our fallen nature, we will continue to fail, but this is where grace really plays. Let us pray that we will continue to be guided and fortified by the Holy Spirit as we continue on our earthly path!
(Today’s OXYGEN by Paul Wee)
Prayer: Father God, we pray that You will grant us the gift of wisdom and of faith, that we will always be mindful that we allow our faith to convert and change us. Help us, Father, to walk as true Christians.
Thanksgiving: Thank you, Father God, for giving us the gift of Grace, for looking past our imperfections and looking at our hearts instead.
OXYGEN 
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