My life was so terrible for so long that, many times, I wished for death, longed for death. Over the years, I learned that 1) my time is not my own and 2) my life is not my own. I have been bought with a price.
Tragedy comes in a moment and sometimes there is nothing that we can do about it. We can protect ourselves and our things with an amazing number of insurance packages covering our car, house, health, boat, furs, jewelry, and the list goes on and on. And on. All these things and the insurance we purchase to protect them are the trappings inherent to our state in life.
If you read lives of the saints, you’ll see that they looked at death as a relief. No longer would they have to deal with the trappings of this world because they saw them for what they really are—trappings. Think of the word, trappings. It sounds benign enough, but those things we call trappings are just that. Traps. Traps that keep us from being free to experience all that the Lord has for us and wants us to experience. But we must let go of our, well, everything. I don’t mean get rid of everything like St. Francis did. The Lord calls the rare few to such drastic measures. I mean, emotionally let go. Don’t let possessions, even our health, have a higher place in our hearts than the Lord has.
We came into this world with nothing. And we’ll leave the same way. And we don’t and won’t have any control over when or how that happens. If we live our lives in faith, the Lord will ask us to do things that are very frightening. He will take us out of our comfort zones.
If you’ve ever seen the first Indiana Jones movie where he is at the mouth of a cliff seeing nothing to step onto. But believing that he has nowhere else to go, he steps out and there is what appears to be an invisible bridge which takes him to the other side of the cavern. Sometimes, more times than I care to think about, life is like that. Stepping out in faith and not allowing fear to control our lives. But even though we can’t see Him, Jesus is there. Always.
Before COVID-19, the media were expert at selling fear. Since COVID-19, the spirit of fear has gained a massive stronghold in the whole of the population of the world. In order not to be influenced by it, we must DECIDE NOT to be influenced by it by purposing to act against it. First, we must be aware that it is there. For so many people, fear is like breathing. It’s normal. It’s familiar. It’s comfortable. But for Christians, it’s the enemy, because it keeps us from stepping out to go when and where the Lord calls us.
What do you suppose would have happened in Matthew 10 and Luke 10, when Jesus tried to send out the 12 and 70? But instead of going out boldly, what if they told Him that they were afraid?
Nothing. If they stayed home because they were afraid, there would have been no healings, no casting out of demons, no preaching the gospels, no apostles in the upper room for the Holy Spirit to enter, and there would be no Catholic church today.
This life is not about us individually. It is about living the abundant life Jesus, in John 10:10, told us He would give us. This does not mean that material wealth should be our aim. The Lord’s abundance means living life (with or without material wealth) in an abundance of peace and joy and not allowing the spirit of fear to keep us from things and people with whom we can share and grow in the knowledge and love of God.
But we can’t be afraid to live. And die. And to suffer in the meantime. Our lives are His. Or at least this should be our attitude.
The enemy prefers when we Christians cannot get together, which is one reason that Churches have been the last to be allowed to open. If the devil can keep Christians apart from each other, he can spread his lies more easily, spreading his tentacles even into otherwise faithful Christians, weakening their spiritual walk.
No, I don’t have a death wish, but there are different ways of dying, or rather, NOT LIVING. So when it comes to living life in today’s world of COVID saturation, remember Whose we are. He knows how many hairs are on our heads. He sees a sparrow fall. Surely, He knows our end. So let’s live our lives in the freedom that comes with knowing He has us in the palm of His hand. When we think about breaking out of our comfort zones, let’s do so in the abundance of peace and joy that Jesus Christ offers. If we can’t do that, let’s ask Him, “what voice am I really listening to?”
