2 December, Friday — What do you deserve?

Friday of the 1st Week of Advent

Isa 29:17-24
Mt 9:27-31

“Your faith deserves it, so let this be done for you.”

Someone once told me that you get what you deserve, and I always wondered the truth of that statement. Sometimes, I feel it serves to limit the individual from achieving his full potential. The statement also seems very reductionistic in nature, as it seeks to limit the outcome of the person towards simplistic terms. However, I find that in the area of our faith, we do need to spend time to nourish it with the Word of God and the Sacraments, so that we can grow the seed of faith which has been planted in our lives.

Jesus healed the two blind men because of their faith. This is instructive for each one of us because it shares with us that our faith can lead us to achieve things which we never thought was possible. I will be the first to admit that my faith is superficial and am unable to deal with the challenges which God has has put forth before me. However, the one thing that keeps me going is the personal relationship I have with God. Jesus shows me that the way to persist in our lives is to live a life of love and giving. In doing so, we discover the importance of the reliance on Him in our journey of life. Ironically, the world teaches us that we must be invincible and strong, yet the way of Christ is one of gentleness. In this season of Advent, we can re-examine the priorities in our lives and re-orientate it towards a journey inwards, of learning how to put Jesus in the center of our lives.

Centering Jesus in our lives is not an easy thing to do, but I have learnt that it is vital to do so. Only when we have Jesus in the centre of our lives can we discover what it means to be authentic. This is often a painful process as we will have to re-live past hurts; but I offer to you the Christ-child this Christmas, so that He can heal you from the hurts which you have encountered.

(Today’s OXYGEN by Nicholas Chia)

Prayer: Jesus, I pray for the humility to accept you in my life.

Thanksgiving: We give thanks for those who remind us of the importance of God in our lives.