The image of God in our hearts is also influenced by how we understand His demands on us as disciples. If we misunderstand the underlying reasons behind these demands, it will greatly affect the image of God in our hearts, as well as the mutual identities and roles in our relationship with Him. In serious cases, this can constitute a barrier to our relationship with God and a stumbling block to whether we can become disciples that live up to His expectations.
From yesterday’s reflection, we learned that God, who seeks our greatest good, knows very well how we can obtain the greatest strength and grace from Him. He has graciously given us two pieces of divine wisdom, assisting us in fulfilling the mission of being Christians, so that God’s plan may be fully realized in us.
The first wisdom teaches us to “seek heavenly things first,” entrusting other matters and worries to God for Him to take over and care for on our behalf. The second wisdom instructs us not to rely solely on our own abilities to follow God and fulfill our God-given mission, recognizing our own weaknesses. We must live within the Church and partake in the sacraments administered in the Church, especially the Eucharist and the Sacrament of Reconciliation, in order to obtain heavenly strength and spiritual nourishment. This is essential for us to have the heart, strength, and endurance needed to faithfully follow Christ.
With this foundation, we can further understand the conditions and attitudes required to be a disciple in the eyes of Jesus. In Luke 14:25-27 and 33, it is recorded:
“Now large crowds were traveling with him; and he turned and said to them, ‘Whoever comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and even life itself, cannot be my disciple. Whoever does not carry the cross and follow me cannot be my disciple… So therefore, none of you can become my disciple if you do not give up all your possessions.’ “(Luke 14:25-27, 33).
Let’s try to imagine that Jesus needed to “recruit and enlist” for the Church He was establishing. He was like an employer, and the passage above was His public recruitment advertisement, the method of attracting disciples! In this Gospel passage, Jesus outlines the conditions and costs of being His disciples. To put it simply, you must be absolutely loyal to God, possess a spirit of generosity and total dedication, and be willing to sacrifice everything in order to qualify! Jesus wants us to clearly understand and agree to these terms before we “sign the contract” and begin working! In this regard, Jesus, as an employer, is indeed very fair and even-handed!
However, let us not forget that “this job” does not come with wages, at least not wages on earth. If you were an applicant, would you choose this job? By earthly standards, Jesus could be considered the worst employer in the world. But God’s standards are not earthly standards. The followers He seeks are not petty, or even workers who seek reasonable compensation. But we know that such workers do not exist! Therefore, we cannot view this relationship with an employer-employee perspective, nor should there be conditional exchanges or expectations of any reward. We should not even treat the conditions outlined by Jesus in light of Him recruiting His disciples.
After all, unless we admit from the bottom of our hearts that we are recipients of God’s immense favour and we desire to do everything we can to repay the favour, no one in the world would be so foolish as to willingly follow Jesus according to the conditions listed by Him! No?
In the face of the demands from Jesus, a more appropriate attitude for us, besides repaying love with love, is to willingly and sincerely acknowledge that those conditions are definitely not for the benefit of God but are reminders given by Jesus for our greatest good.
If we confess that God’s plans for us are the best, then the path He guides us on is the only way for us to inherit eternal life (Mark 10:17), to embark on the journey to holiness, and to open the door to receiving God’s power and grace!
Our attitude adjustment in this regard is crucial for whether we can successfully become a disciple that is up to par or, more simply, become a child willing to reciprocate love to our Heavenly Father.
Reflection
In what perspective and mindset have you adopted to understand the conditions for being His disciples that Jesus laid out in the Gospels? Have you ever wished, in turn, to receive reasonable rewards when following the Lord?
In your journey of following Jesus, do you tend to focus solely on your own benefits, such as the reward of eternal life or inner peace, without considering how much you are willing to give to meet the requirements set by Jesus?
Now, I invite you to examine your relationship with the Lord in the presence of God. Do you acknowledge yourself as someone who has received immense favour from God and is deeply loved by the Lord?
Today’s Prayer
Lord Jesus, I acknowledge that in my journey of following You, I indeed had selfish desires, hoping to gain certain benefits. In my heart, I thought that was understandable!
I’ve held an attitude, even unnoticed by myself, viewing my relationship with You as a reasonable exchange of conditions. I never realized that, in reality, You owe me nothing. On the contrary, You bore the countless debts of my sins. The conditions You outlined for me are not meant for me to repay my debts, but are for my greatest good.
I thank You for helping me understand these truths today, enabling me to reposition myself to rectify and restore my relationship with You.
I look forward to this new relationship bringing me closer to You and fostering a deeper love for You, and… bringing a bit of comfort to You…
You are invited to visit the YouTube channel, where all participants are encouraged to join and share their reflections.
Fundraising Appeal
Thank you for participating in this 40-day Lenten spiritual journey, Finding God in All Things. We hope you have been inspired and have benefitted from it! For the spiritual benefit of all of you, Fountain of Love and Life devotes a lot of time and effort in producing various spiritual projects every year, and all our ministries are sustained by the generous donations of our supporters. We hope you will support us with prayers and donations. Please make an online donation using the button at the top of the website Lent.FLL.cc. Thank you very much for your support. God bless!
The following is the “Farmer of Hearts: Finding God in All Things” team, including FLL staff and volunteers.
Please kindly pray for them. May God protect them and sustain their physical, mental and spiritual well-being.
Project Manager: Michael Lam
Writer: Paul Yeung
Editors: Bonny Chan, Rosa Tse
English Editors: Bonny Chan, Paul Yeung
Mandarin Editor: Anthony X.
Cantonese Narrator: Margaret Woo
English Narrator: Bonny Chan
Mandarin Narrator: Rene Ren
Audio Editors: Fonte Ip, Sander Lee, Margaret Woo
YouTube Editors: Fonte Ip, Sander Lee, Arnold Chan
Graphics: Francis Lai, Rosa Tse
Website: Patricia Young, Angela Wong
Podcast: Angela Wong
Social Media: Yollie Leung, Carmen Tsang, Rosa Tse
Theme Music:
“Friends Only” by Introvert Pianist https://www.youtube.com/@introvertpianist
“Watercolor Lilies” by Aaron Kenny https://youtube.com/@contactkennya