This takes balance

November 14, 2010

In this Sunday's Gospel reading, Jesus says that the day will come when not one stone of the temple will be left mortared to another, because it will all be torn down. He's reminding us that everything here on earth is temporary.

What do you enjoy here on this earth? It's temporary. What causes you to suffer? It's temporary. What of this world do you depend on? It's temporary. What do you admire, trust, save, hope for, plan for, spend working hours to achieve, and spend relaxation hours as a reward? It's all temporary – unless we are using it for the Kingdom of God.

We know that we're supposed to focus on the things of God, things that will last for all of eternity, but we don't like the blind faith that this requires. We are like the disciples who looked for God's vindication against injustices and immorality in the temporal world: wars, earthquakes, plagues and famines. We wish that Jesus would hurry up with his Second Coming and stop all the evils and hardships.

In our daily lives, we seek God's help, but we look for something concrete upon which to base our faith. We want to know the future; we don't like the insecurity of not knowing what God has planned. We want to depend on what we see, rather than depend on God whom we cannot see, so we ask God to give us signs.

However, the best way to walk forward with God is to raise one foot in air, preparing to take the next step, and – while that foot is still in the air – ask God: "Where do You want me to place my foot next?"

This takes balance; if we don't remain centered in God, we teeter and fall. If God doesn't show us immediately where to put our foot down to move forward, we either fall away or we fall into his hand.

God's hand is never temporary! God's hand provides true security based only on his endless, all-powerful, all-knowing love. It doesn't always feel that way, but his love and protection never fail.