One of my favorite movie trilogies…and the title is so appropriate. J
As people looking toward Eternal life, we understand that the gift of salvation is priceless: worth more than anything and everything we could offer God while here on earth. Our response to such a gift is zeal and passion for God’s life-giving love. We Catholics do not do good works to earn our Heaven, as so many mistakenly believe. We do good works in response to and thanksgiving for Jesus Christ’s having opened the gates to us freely. And one cannot be thankful for a gift one has not accepted. If we do not accept that God, and God only, can and will sweep us off our feet and carry us off to Heaven, our good works of thanksgiving are meaningless.
God is already waving free tickets to Heaven in our faces. We accept as graciously as our weak humanity can, and then we celebrate (Mass, prayers, good works…all the good stuff. J)
My point here being that Christians look to the future; our whole lives on Earth are caught up in the reality that we will someday be experiencing God fully among His angels and Saints. What an amazing reality to live and die for!
And thus, the future is where evil tries to deter us.
“Be not afraid.”
I've been saying that lot these days. Hearing it a lot too. From friends, family members, from God Himself. And I've definitely needed to hear it and say it. Lots of stuff has happened in my life recently. Not stuff I'm either willing or yet able to bear my soul about on the internet; stuff that goes arm in arm with that paralyzing fear that knocks the wind out of me when I lay down to sleep at night. And I know for a fact that others are getting the wind knocked out of them too. I tell people and myself to trust God all the time, but when all I knew seemed to be literally falling apart about a week ago, I gained some new perspective on fear, and no longer dismiss how real and crippling it can be.
The thing about fear is that the things we fear are a very real part of our human condition. Evil exists all around us. We live in this world and are a fallen race. Many things that hurt and scare us are the difficulties we have created for ourselves as a result of our sin; other things have other-worldly influence behind them. It is not wrong or unnatural that we be alert to these things. We understand that they might pose a distraction, an obstacle to the future reality of Heaven, should we give them our undue attention. And that undue attention is fear. On the road to sainthood, these evils and distractions give us pause. We dig in our heels and stop to ponder. And fear takes over. We become consumed by how easily these things might stop us. From gaining peace, from joy, from eternal life in the future…and we forget that we’ve already stopped. We forget that we’re already holding the ticket to Heaven in our hands, because we worry about what should happen if something were to take that ticket away.
The thing about fear is that the things we fear are a very real part of our human condition. Evil exists all around us. We live in this world and are a fallen race. Many things that hurt and scare us are the difficulties we have created for ourselves as a result of our sin; other things have other-worldly influence behind them. It is not wrong or unnatural that we be alert to these things. We understand that they might pose a distraction, an obstacle to the future reality of Heaven, should we give them our undue attention. And that undue attention is fear. On the road to sainthood, these evils and distractions give us pause. We dig in our heels and stop to ponder. And fear takes over. We become consumed by how easily these things might stop us. From gaining peace, from joy, from eternal life in the future…and we forget that we’ve already stopped. We forget that we’re already holding the ticket to Heaven in our hands, because we worry about what should happen if something were to take that ticket away.
Stupid Satan. What a head trip. It doesn’t even make sense. Faulty logic!
The opposite of fear is hope. Like fear, hope looks to the future. But hope is when we barely give evil and distraction a head nod, and keep on trucking toward those pearly gates. Hope is realizing that none of the troubles of this world deserve undue attention, because that ticket to Heaven is in our hands, and that ticket is the sacrifice of Christ’s death on the Cross and His Resurrection and victory over death. Hope says to those distractions as we pass them by: “You don’t matter all that much. My future is bright, and nothing can stop me from getting there.” In other words, Philippians 4:13. Or Romans 8:38-39.
So the trick is to be not afraid. When we pause on the road to Sainthood, when we allow fear to bamboozle us, we make the decision to stop chasing God, many times without realizing it. The trick is to keep on trucking. Keep our eyes on the prize-Heaven. Keep on keepin’ on. Or, in other, more eloquent and less clichéd words,
“Be ever engaged, so that whenever the devil calls, he may find you occupied.” –St. Jerome
I’m ready to get moving again, get past this fear. I’m ready to keep loving my friends, my family, strangers God brings into my life. These struggles I’m going through? Doesn’t matter what they are. They don’t matter in the grand scheme of things. I have hope, because I’m on my way to a bigger, brighter, greater reality than I can imagine. I’m ready to get back to the Future. ;)
May you be fearless, and hopeful on this journey to Sainthood. Grace to you, and peace.
Oh April, I love this reflection! God never gives you more than you can handle with His help :) Jer 29:11.....I really do love all that you just said. He is here constantly, with us, waiting for us to recognize His open arms. I love you!!!
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