With a little help from us

YES, with a little help from us the full wonder of God’sgrace would be revealed to us. This was articulated by Christ himselfwhen he compared the Kingdom of God to how a seed grows. (cfr. Mk4,26-34)

“It is as if a man were to scatter seed on the land andwould sleep and rise night and day and the seed would sprout and grow,he knows not how. Of its own accord the land yields fruit, first theblade, then the ear, then the full grain in the ear. And when thegrain is ripe, he wields the sickle at once, for the harvest hascome.”

What he is telling us is that as long as we do our part,no matter how meager it is, he will astound us with his own tremendouspower! He reiterated this point when he again compared the Kingdom ofGod to a mustard seed, a very small seed.

“Once it is sown, it springs up and becomes the largest ofplants and puts forth large branches, so that the birds of the sky candwell in its shade.”

It is very moving to realize that what God is asking of usis actually very little in comparison to what he will be giving anddoing for us. Another gospel episode that highlights this point isthat of the miraculous catch of fish. (cfr. Lk 5,1-11)

Christ asked Peter to go to the deep and lower the netsfor a catch. Peter at first was hesitant because he was fishing theprevious night and caught nothing. But to Peter’s credit, he justobeyed Christ. And lo and behold, Peter caught such a large quantityof fish that he had to ask help to bring the catch of fish to theshore.

It is indeed very reassuring that this is actually whathappens in our relationship with God. All that we need to do are justthe little duties we have, and God’s grace will come to us inabundance.

We simply have to do things in good faith, in obedience toGod’s will, though sometimes God’s will would require extraordinaryeffort and sacrifice. But then again, whatever investment we have togive, even if in our own estimation it is already quite sizable, isnothing compared to what God will give us in return.

Corresponding to God’s will in our own small way is thehighest yielding investment we can make. Let us remember that God cannever be outdone in generosity. Christ himself said: “Whoever has(referring to one’s faith and trust in God) will be given more, and hewill have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what he has willbe taken away from him.” (Mt 13,12)

Let’s not forget that when we are sparing in ourself-giving to God and to others, God will take away even the littlethat we have. The law that should rule our life is that of love, oftotal self-giving no matter what it would cost, though most times, thecost is really little only.

Only to a few people would some extraordinary sacrificeswould be asked by God. For most of us, we would only be asked alittle. The secret is to do God’s will with pure faith accompanied bythe best effort we could give.

And we do not have to wait for some special occasions orfor some special persons to do this. The usual, ordinary events of ourday and the ordinary people as recipients of our good deeds can be thegood occasion to show our faith and love for God.

Remember Christ saying: “Whatever you did for one of theleast of these brothers of mine, you did for me.” (Mt 25,40)

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