I meant to write this a few days ago, but alas we were preoccupied with the inevitable disaster of war and the death of a friend. Please pray for the repose of the soul of Sonny Zimmerman, Staff Sergeant, U.S. Army.
We are creatures of habit. We schedule our lives around specific events and we rarely change. For a rather good example of our creature like habits read Tolkien’s Fellowship of the Ring. His description of the Hobbit’s lifestyle mirrors our own. (Only more vices are noted in our lives compared to hobbits.)
As people of habit we need to mirror our lives to that of Christ. (Minus the tunic, sandals, long beard, and bread and fish for every meal.) God gave us His beloved Son and placed Him in our image so that we may be closer to the Father through the Son. It helps us to understand Godliness through a manlike example.
Something I struggle with is being able to use the Holy Bible as an outline for my life. The time it was written is so utterly different from now so how do we fall in love with the Church like the early Christians did? Most of us have this utter fear of being ostracized and honestly from the time of the early Christians until now that is exactly what happens to those who preach the word of God.
Especially in the modern era it is not especially appropriate or productive to go stand in the middle of the town square and read from the good book. Most people in todays society are very much aware of what Christianity is, and they choose to not follow it of their own volition.
It is hard to be Christian in todays world. Not to say that being persecuted by Romans is not horrifying and dangerous. There are so many more ways for the devil to get to us in the materialistic lazy lives we live now then 200 or even 2,000 years ago. We are not as devoted to things as we used to be, we care more about our jobs and making money then going home to our families and raising our children the way they should be raised.
So many times I have heard “Well I am just gonna let my kids believe whatever they want to believe, it is not my business to tell them what to believe.” That is what a lot of parents believe nowadays. (The a lot of parents I refer to is those who were not instructed in the truth.) It is not the obligation of parents to push a belief upon their children but to INSTRUCT them, FORM them, and MOLD them into having lives of prayer. How do children learn the habit of prayer? Pray when you wake, put a morning offering on the mirror in the bathroom. Pray when you eat, every time you eat. Pray before you sleep, every time you sleep. Habitual prayer is something we all need to work on. Praying often will help us grow closer to God and to bring others with us. Those who fall need help and cannot do it alone.
When your friend has a question and feels like he or she cannot go to anyone else, then be there for them. If someone has not been to confession in ten years, because they fear they cannot be forgiven help them understand that everyone who is willing can be saved. Help them to become creatures of habit just as your parents made you.
The reason why I write about these topics is not because I think I am the model of all these virtues that I speak of but because I want to speak to you from the heart about how we all should act. A gentle reminder in an ever so sordid reality. The reality is both myself and you the reader need to take a step back and realize what we need to change in our lives. Once we have pinpointed those key issues we need to reach out and touch our friends and family that struggle with religion and instruct them with gentleness and reverence. One of the things I cant abide is having a list of topics (usually religious and political) of what I cannot discuss at family functions. If you are not comfortable talking about religion in front of your own flesh and blood how can you possibly begin to start a habit of religious evangelization?? Change those around you and help them to see the path of truth that Jesus so earnestly teaches about in the Gospels.
“Go therefore and make disciples of all nations baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.” (Matthew 28:19-20)
Discovering Reality 