theROCK

Through the Narrow Gate

Since God revealed himself to Abraham in the Old Testament, all that was ever asked of believers was to have a relationship with Him. This entailed talking to God through prayer and following directions known as commandments. In return, God bestowed all forms of blessings upon them, including children. Children that were to be formed to believe in God as well. Throughout the Old Testament, believers in the one true God struggled but never fully lost faith. By the time history reached the New Testament,
God's people needed a reboot. They had all but lost faith when Jesus arrived on earth to reinvigorate our relationship with God.

In teaching us, suffering for us, dying for us, and rising from the dead for us, Jesus defines the love God has for us and models for us the love we are required to have for God. It is this love, through a relationship with God, that can get us through the narrow gate named in the Gospel.

I don't know about you but I don't want to be left outside the gate. I don't want my loved ones left outside. I don't want anyone left outside. In my mind, to be left outside means that a lifetime was wasted in getting to know Jesus. Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life. In knowing Him, having a relationship with Him through the Mass and the sacraments and engaging with others in a manner that will assist all of us in getting to Heaven, I hope to pass through the narrow gate. No one should be left outside if we do our very best to lift each other up.

Sticking with Love

“I’m concerned about a better world. I’m concerned about justice; I’m concerned about brotherhood and sisterhood; I’m concerned about truth. And when one is concerned about that, he can never advocate violence. For through violence you may murder a murderer, but you can’t murder murder. Through violence you may murder a liar, but you can’t establish truth. Through violence you may murder a hater, but you can’t murder hate through violence. Darkness cannot put out darkness; only light can do that.

And I say to you, I have also decided to stick with love, for I know that love is ultimately the only answer to humankind’s problems. And I’m going to talk about it everywhere I go. I know it isn’t popular to talk about it in some circles today. And I’m not talking about emotional bosh when I talk about love; I’m talking about a strong, demanding love. For I have seen too much hate and I say to myself that hate is too great a burden to bear. I have decided to love. If you are seeking the highest good, I think you can find it through love.

And the beautiful thing is that we aren’t moving wrong when we do it, because John was right, God is love.”

A portion of a speech by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. delivered over 50 years ago.

Quo Vadis

Recently I took a trip to a small town in central Wisconsin. I was headed to farm country, a beautiful part of the state filled with enormous hills and valleys. I typed the numbers and street into the Map app on my phone, only to discover that the address did not exist. I knew it was right, I double and triple checked it before I left. But this address simply did not exist in the GPS world. So I put in a nearby city, something to get me close to where I needed to be.

Needless to say, this was not a relaxing trip. The entire time I kept wondering if I was on the right road, heading in the right direction, driving my car to the place I needed to be. 

Quo Vadis. It’s a Latin phrase roughly meaning “where are you going?” What have you programmed into your internal GPS? Do you have a specific destination in mind, or are you traveling someplace nearby? Too often in life we simply move without thinking. We react instead of carefully planning our routes. To live a life of faith means having one clear destination, one detailed map that guides everything we do. It’s the only way we can be guaranteed that we’re on the right road, heading in the right direction, and getting where we need to be.

Ask yourself today: Quo Vadis? Then start programming your own personal GPS.