In the past few days, we have been talking about entering the wilderness to meet with God. You may wonder: there are so many better places to choose from, why do we have to encounter God in the wilderness? Indeed, before Adam and Eve sinned, God used to meet and walk with them in the garden. The rest is history.  Before we sinned, everything was good, so was our relationship with God the Father. But after we sinned, everything changed. We are deceived by the lies of our enemy and are blinded by our desires and weighed down by our guilt.

And what is even more pitiful is how our sin has distorted the image of God in us! We cannot face God and so we try to hide from Him.

Because of our sins and unrighteousness, we cannot continue to enjoy the true beatitude in God.  However, this does not diminish His love for us. His love for each one of us whom He deeply loves has become even stronger!

God, in His divine mercy, has pardoned us sinners and He even laid all our sins on His only begotten Son!

In the letter of Paul to the Romans, chapter 5 verses 6 to 8, St. Paul says, “For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. Indeed, rarely will anyone die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person someone might actually dare to die. But God proves his love for us in that while we still were sinners Christ died for us.” (Romans 5:6-8)

What other reasons do we have to escape from our Heavenly Father? What reasons do we have to hide from Him? What other excuses do we have to ignore Our Heavenly Father, leaving Him to wait for us in vain? We have absolutely no reason not to reconcile with our Heavenly Father. In the second letter of Paul to the Corinthians, chapter 5 verse 21, St. Paul says,

”For our sake he made Him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God.” (2 Corinthians 5:21)

This is the main reason why the Lord Jesus was born as a human, to save us from the slavery of our sins. As sinners, we cannot enter the Kingdom of God. So, for us, God is willing to humble Himself and be born as a human, entering into humanity and our sin! This is mind boggling! How can this be real? My soul, do you understand?

God is willing to meet us in our sins. He is with us where we fall, help us regain our footing in Him and move on!

So, our Heavenly Father is willing to wait for us in the wilderness because we are the ones who wander in the wilderness, the ones who aimlessly search for things or goals that seem appealing, things that we think are the most important in life. Isn’t it a familiar scene as Jesus deliberately waited for the Samaritan woman at the well in Samaria during the hottest time of the day? Jesus did this to remind her that what is more important in life is not about satisfying one’s desires, no matter how important they seem to be, but to seek above all things, the eternal spring of life, which is the Lord Jesus Christ!

Let us not be deceived. We should not focus all our energy on things temporal, the desires of this world, while neglecting the eternal longing that has always been planted in our hearts. Oh, my soul! Don’t be penny wise and pound foolish!

If we know not to foolishly stuff ourselves with snacks to spoil our appetite before a scrumptious dinner, then we should not foolishly satisfy our worldly, temporal desires and sacrifice what God the Father has gifted and prepared for us in the Kingdom of God: the eternal banquet with endless goodness.

Let us not forget the words that Jesus said to Martha, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and distracted by many things; there is need of only one thing. Mary has chosen the better part, which will not be taken away from her.” (Luke 10:41-42)

Mary and the Samaritan woman have both chosen the better part, and now it is our turn to choose!

Reflection

Are you willing to be like the Samaritan woman, courageously face your past before God, and allow God to transform you, so that you can start your life anew?

Do you believe that the personal mission that God has  chosen for you is the best part for you or a dreadful one?

Are you willing to meet the Lord in the place where you have fallen? Please let God enter the wounded parts of your heart and allow Him to tenderly heal you!

Today’s Prayer

Merciful Father, I truly don’t understand why I have been avoiding You all these years, lacking the courage to face You and my own past. Thank You for not leaving or forsaking me and for remaining silently by my side in places where I have fallen. Please grant me an unshakable faith and an unwavering hope, so that I will not repeat my mistakes and walk away from Your path again. I promise to never again walk astray from Your boundless mercy and to always thirst for Your eternal spring of life. I ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

If you find this reflection helpful and have not registered to receive our daily email, we invite you to sign up here.

You are invited to visit the YouTube channel, where all participants are encouraged to join and share their reflections.

Thank you for participating in this 40-day Lenten spiritual journey, I thirst. 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!