March 10, 2011

Matthew 7:22

"Many will say to me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name? Did we not drive out demons in your name? Did we not do mighty deeds in your name?'"

I remember a conversation I had with my mom once, about a talk she had with Father Jerome. She said she had thought that she would be able to point to things like the ACTS Community - and Vacation Bible School, Friends of Jesus and Mary, etc. - when she was asking God to evaluate her life. But that it wasn't really about that.

I think we can forget that. We won't go to heaven because we went to Church every Sunday. We go to Church every Sunday because that is God's gift to us. It is not something we do to get brownie points, it's for us. Doing good in our world is our blessing. Prayer is for us, not God, who knows our needs and desires and inner selves. It's not so that He can get to know us better - He knew us in the womb. It's so that we can understand how He loves us.

There's a comfort in thinking that we can just do certain things - check off a list. Even if it's the Ten Commandments or even the Golden Rule. But the direction to love the Lord your God with all of your heart and soul and love your neighbor as yourself is so that we have the benefit of accepting God's love in our lives and being a caring part of our community.

If it's not something that enriches your life, if it's something that you're doing out of obligation or because you think it will get you brownie points to help with your transition into heaven, then you're approaching God in the wrong way.

Because even if you've done great work in your life, you need God's grace. I think in our society we focus a lot on what we're entitled to, on what life owes us, on what we "deserve." But we can never deserve the gifts God gives us, certainly not by doing His work - because that is it's own reward. Good works are necessary for heaven because they constitute our experience of heaven on Earth. We all know that doing good makes you feel good, becoming its own reward. It's the experience of God here on Earth. That is it's own reward. It's not a way of "earning" or "deserving" favors from God. A relationship with Him is its own reward.

Lord God, may I always be blessed to find my reward for serving You and find that blessing in the act itself. May I remember that blessing and seek it out in my life more than I do now. Lord be with me, help me to be better. Be with me, Lord, always.