30 December, Monday — Pursuing God

6th day within the octave of Christmas

1 Jn 2:12-17
Lk 2:36-40

…nothing the world has to offer…could ever come from the Father but only from the world…

I am a consummate social media consumer and have used these platforms for my work and to ‘pass time’.

I have noticed that videos that go viral tend to be in the areas of attaining health and/or fitness, getting rich, achieving the best relationships, trolling (which is when someone posts or comments online to ‘bait’ people, which means deliberately provoking an argument or emotional reaction. Sometimes, they say things they don’t believe to cause drama) or creating videos with ‘sexy’ themes (such as dancing and acting provocatively).

I have found it easy to get ‘drawn in blindly’ and follow these trends. While there is Christian content, the reality is that, on many occasions, this content contains false teachings. On a few occasions, I have found myself repeating falsehoods without realising it. I am much more careful today, having been caught out before.

In today’s first reading, we are cautioned against being ensnared by the ways of the world, being enticed by the promise of wealth, lust and possessions. We can only partake in these while on this earth, but ironically, they form a tiny part of our lives, including our eternal and spiritual lives. 

This reminder comes at an opportune time, as we see the end of 2024, and many of us are working on our resolutions for 2025. Many of these resolutions will undoubtedly be about losing weight, learning new skills, or earning more money. What if we do it differently this time around? What if we focus on our Lord and grow our spiritual strengths to help our relationships with God? What if we work harder to become more obedient sons and daughters of God? 

Let us pray for strength and resolve, and for the Holy Spirit to guide us on this journey.

Happy New Year, my brothers and sisters in Christ!

(Today’s OXYGEN by Paul Wee)

Prayer: Father, show us how to develop a closer relationship with You. Help us to be relentless in turning to You in all things. Help us to focus on what is important — our spiritual and eternal lives.

Thanksgiving: We thank You, Lord, for being with us in this past year. We are grateful for Your love and constant guidance.