In a stage play, a certain woman named Emily died and was allowed to come back to re-live one day in her life. She chose her 12th birthday.
As she went through that day with her family, she noticed that her family was going through it so casually, so lifelessly that she complained to her mother saying, “Common, Mom, let’s celebrate, really celebrate!”. But her family did not quite get it so that at the end of the day, Emily was frustrated. She exclaimed:
Oh, life! Does anyone ever really appreciates you while they are still alive?
Many of us live partial lives. And as one Saint put it “fear not that you will die, that your life will have an end. Fear rather that your life will never have a beginning, that you will never begin to live fully.
Jesus invites a man to follow him and use their gifts for a higher purpose. But each man finds a reason to delay their commitment to Christ. They failed to see that the call to follow Jesus is so intense that nothing should deter us from that commitment.
“Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go.”
Jesus answered him, “Foxes have dens and birds of the sky have nests,
but the Son of Man has nowhere to rest his head.”
Another of his disciples said to him,
“Lord, let me go first and bury my father.”
But Jesus answered him, “Follow me,
and let the dead bury their dead.” (Matthew 8: 18-22)
God wants us to be happy. He wants us to live life fully. The only way to do that is to follow Jesus, whether we are at work, at home, with friends or anywhere else.
He is with you right now, calling on you to make the right decision so that you might proclaim the good news in every aspect of your lives so that you can live the life he has given you to the fullest.
Reflection:
Life is a gift. Are you living life fully? Do you embrace life passionately and with purpose?
Source:
Fr. John Schmalohfer
USCCB July 1, 2013 Video Reflections
http://www.usccb.org/bible/reflections/
