“His mouth is most sweet: yea, he is altogether lovely. This is my beloved, and this is my friend, O daughters of Jerusalem.” —Song of Solomon 5:16
To fall absolutely in love with
Jesus is the only sure path to true holiness. All other paths lead down blind
alleys and dead end streets, spiritually. Our carnal appetites or selfish
ambitions must not just simply fade, they must be abandoned altogether. To
throw our lives into the arms of Jesus is to say, in so many words, “In Him I
trust, there is none other (Cf. 1 Peter 5:7).”
In a word, there is no cheap path
to purity. Holiness requires all that we have, and all that we are. A thousand
recitations of the rosary will not do; neither will the incessant prayers of a
hypocrite. God cannot be bribed or bought. His love comes freely. But, as with
any love it must be reciprocated. God cannot be fooled, either. He knows the
very intent of our hearts. He reads the lips that mouth “I love you;” yet, are
far from Him.
Sadly many are content with the
drama of what might rightly be called : “Churchianity.” (Look it up. It’s a
real word.) That is to say that Christianity has devolved into a mutual
admiration society. A social club. A feel good society. A church that has most
often abandoned the Ten Commandments in favor of promoting Self-Help, propped
up with Bible verses. This play acting must stop. Otherwise,
“Many will say
to [Jesus] in that day, Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy by thy name, and by thy
name cast out demons, and by thy name do many mighty works? And then will He
profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.” (Matthew
7:22-23)
Tough language, that’s for sure.
Nonetheless, these are His words, not mine.
With brotherly
affection,
JimR_/
No comments:
Post a Comment