"You wicked servant, I canceled all that debt of yours when you appealed to me. Were you not bound, then, to have pity on your fellow servants just as I had pity on you?" (Matthew 18: 32 – 33)
Forgive others as the Father forgives you.
Give to others as the Father gives to you.
Do for others as the Father does to you.
"Yahweh said to Joshua, 'This day, I shall begin to make you great in the eyes of all Israel so that they will know that, as I was with Moses, so shall I be with you." (Joshua 3: 7)
God appointed Joshua to succeed Moses. In Joshua 3:7, we see God equipping Joshua for the job. He is made great in the eyes of the people to facilitate the work of his leadership. He was not made great for his sake. All gifts come from God. God is the source of all inspiration and power.
"If the Lord does not build the house, they labor in vain who builds it." (Psalm 27: 1)
"In truth I tell you once again, if two of you on earth agree to ask anything at all, it will be granted to you by my Father in heaven. For where two or three meet in my name, I am there among them." (Matthew 18: 19 – 20)
When I meditated on the above scripture in 1999, I had a hot wish. Filled with faith, I called a number of friends to pray in agreement with me for an answer to that desire. Today, 2010, I am still waiting for an answer. What happened? What went wrong? Is Jesus unfaithful to His promises?
My understanding of prayer has grown since I responded to this scripture the way I did in 1999. Looking back at my frantic prayer and the apparent No Answer to that prayer, I feel like somebody who knows the mind of Jesus better today than I did in 1999. I feel that Jesus is saying to me: "I have heard your prayer. Just trust me completely with your life. You will have nothing to regret." I know and believe that Jesus is in control. I have come to see and believe that He knows what is best for me. I have peace and I surrender. Answer or no answer does not matter as much as knowing that Jesus is with me here and now. My devotion to Jesus has not lessened. On the contrary, it has increased.
"Joshua son Nun was filled with the spirit of wisdom, for Moses had laid his hands on him and him the Israelites obeyed, carrying out the order which Yahweh had given to Moses." (Deuteronomy 34: 9)
Where the Holy Spirit is, there is the power to perform great tasks. We see this in the lives of Moses, Joshua, David, the prophets, John the Baptist, Jesus, Peter and Paul and so on. The Spirit is the source of inspiration and power for big tasks and big missions.
"All you need is the Holy Spirit." Dearest Mother of the Redeemer and Most Beautiful Spouse of the Holy Spirit, obtain for me great outpouring of the Holy Spirit.
"God of mercy, you inspired St. Clare with the love of poverty. By the help of her prayers may we follow Christ in poverty of spirit and come to the joyful vision of glory in the kingdom of heaven….."
St. Clare embraced the gift of God to love the poverty and simplicity of Jesus Christ.
What am I inspired to love?
God is the source of inspiration and power
"Anyone who loves his life loses it; anyone who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life." (John 12: 25)
The world holds up for us models of people who love their lives and enjoy life. They have the following characteristics:
The Gospel on the other hand presents us with models of people who "hate" their lives in this world. They too have their characteristics:
If one lives and clings to his life in this world, he loses the real life. "It is the spirit that gives life. The flesh as nothing to give."