God is not unjust so as to overlook your work
and the love you have demonstrated for his name
by having served and continuing to serve the holy ones.
G race comes as an astonishing revelation and often remains incomprehensible to the sincerest Christians. Today's passage from the Letter to the Hebrews begins with a kind of reassurance about grace and one's merits.
It's not as if the good works we do and our lively concern for one another mean nothing in God's sight. Our best efforts, however, can be blown away by any number of unfortunate accidents. Cynics and skeptics may mock them and we may feel profoundly discouraged by the apparent setback, but they are not forgotten in God's sight.
We care for the dying, attempting to ease their anxiety, discomfort, and pain. Those sacrifices are remembered in eternity. But when death has its way, we may feel as if it were all for naught. We may say, "Nothing good came of it." That response might betray our true motives. Were they performed with the hope of recognition or accomplishment, rather than in gracious generosity?
As we accept the revelation of God's unrestricted, everlasting love, we discover there's more where that came from. I can give generously of what little I have because there's more where that came from, and it will be there when I need it.
Waste, of course, is never given that promise; we cannot squander the goodness of good health or sufficient funds upon cheap recreations. Grace belongs to generosity and remains faithfully with those who act in its spirit.
Generosity acts selflessly. How many times have we encountered men and women in the service of the Church who were just there when we needed them? Something needed to be done and it was done. It happened not because I thought it was important.
And if it didn't happen, or if we were disappointed by a lack of support from those we counted on, perhaps the whole project was not founded on God's intentions for it. It may be a good idea before its time, like the temple that King David could not build and Solomon could. We learn to recognize our projects as nothing more than our own vanity when they don't generate a response from others, or when our efforts tire and become, as the Divine Author calls them, "sluggish." They are weeds without roots, seeds planted on rocky soil. It seemed like a good idea, but nothing came of it. Oh well; let it go.
Christians learn to live by and work with the Spirit of the Lord. They are not driven by a desire for success or accomplishment but by the generosity of a generous God. There are no guarantees for the greatest human accomplishments. (Whatever happened to the Tower of Babel? Where is it today?) But, as the young poet John Keats said, "A thing of beauty is a joy forever."
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I love to write. This blog helps me to meditate on the Word of God, and I hope to make some contribution to our contemplations of God's Mighty Works.
Ordinarily, I write these reflections two or three weeks in advance of their publication. I do not intend to comment on current events.
I understand many people prefer gender-neutral references to "God." I don't disagree with them but find that language impersonal, unappealing and tasteless. When I refer to "God" I think of the One whom Jesus called "Abba" and "Father", and I would not attempt to improve on Jesus' language.
You're welcome to add a thought or raise a question.