What will make us a faithful follower of Christ?

Today's Reflection:

What will make us a faithful follower of Christ? It is not verbal commitment to our Lord that counts but doing His will. Being one with our Lord in thought, word and deed, in our deepest desires and motivations, is one adequate expression of our love relationship with our God and our commitment to His cause. Doing His will with a cheerful heart despite the difficulties and trials that may have cramped our lives is a sign of an authentic follower of Christ.

Who will enter the heavenly kingdom of our Father? Jesus Himself said: "only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven."

To do the will of the Father is to be like Jesus and live as He lived. To be like Jesus, we have to walk the talk just as Jesus did. We should be totally dependent upon God and our lives and all that relate to our being should reflect God's character, His will and plan for us.

In John 4:34, Jesus said: "doing the will of Him who sent me and bringing his work to completion is my food." Doing God's will was so satisfying to Jesus as a good meal is to most of us. Doing God's will should be our food if we have to experience satisfaction. When we include God in our lives and make Him part of us, we are only bound to experience fulfilled lives which can nourish and refresh us and bring us the peace and serenity that we always long for. God's will is good, totally acceptable and perfect and can only bring us joy and contentment even in our most bitter and difficult situations.

God wants us to have the opportunity to be one with us and He is waiting for us to respond to his call. God may bring with Him "somethings" which we never planned for in the past but we have to receive them as our own and carry them. When we respond to God in this manner, we give Him the right to work out His will in our lives and be God for all of us. But if we fail to be one with our Lord and set Him aside in our lives, we get stuck in being god of our lives.

Doing God's will is picking up our cross and carrying it in His Name. Doing God's will is dying to self, our pride and arrogance and always asking God for the grace to submit to Him, "yet not what I will but what thou has willed."

Direction
God’s will for us is an expression of His infinitely perfect plan and it certainly demands our obedience.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, give me the grace to be fully committed to your Word, your will and perfect plan for me. In Jesus, I pray. Amen.