A short meditation on the words of Pope Benedict XVI
Each of us is the result of a thought of God. Each of us is willed, each of us is loved, each of us is necessary. There is nothing more beautiful than to be surprised by the Gospel, by the encounter with Christ. There is nothing more beautiful than to know him and to speak to others of our friendship with him. Pope Benedict XVI
Let us meditate on these beautiful words: “Each of us is the result of a thought of God.” Yes, God only has to will the creation of something and it is created. The Bible tells us that God said “Let us make man in our own image.” (Gen 1:26) What an amazing thing; what humility God has that He would create us in His own image when He could have created everything to look lower and humbler than Himself. But God desired to make children of us and not creatures.
“Each of us is willed.” How sad it is when people say “I wish I was never born” or “What’s the point in my life.” It is very easy for the devil to make us feel unwanted and unloved at times, but God ‘willed’ that each of us be here, and later, that we be with Him in heaven. We must also accept that whatever situation we are in, this is also willed by God – it is either ordained by Him, or permitted by Him, there is no other option. God is all powerful and whatever God wills, is done. This may be a difficult concept to accept at times, especially when there is great evil done, but God is able to bring good out of every evil. The greatest evil ever done was when our Saviour Jesus was crucified, but God turned that greatest evil into the greatest good, and we can be sure that all the evil which God permits in this world will one day be recognised as having brought about some good thing which otherwise would not have taken place. Our God is love, and all His motives are love.
“Each of us is loved.” Society puts such demands on us to look good, to be popular, to be talented in order for us to feel loved and accepted. One of the most amazing things about God is that His love is unconditional; He loves us because He is love, and not because we are loveable. No matter what happens to us in our life, no matter how low we may be brought by our circumstances, or how low we may bring ourselves, one thing we can hold on to is the fact that we are loved. We are deeply and truly loved by God, even in our sinful state! Scripture tells us: “That God shows His love for us in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” (Rom 5:8) God may hate the sin which we succumb to, or that which we desire, but He still loves us! Right now, wherever you are, or whatever state of grace or sin you are in, God loves you – truly and deeply! Let this reality always stay with you. And do not doubt Gods love for you! St Paul says, “Do not grieve the Holy Spirit”. One of the greatest ways to grieve the Holy Spirit is to doubt God’s love and mercy towards you.
“Each of us is necessary” Wow! Are you necessary to God? YES! Again, this is sometimes not always easy to understand, but you must think of it like this: If you do not follow the call of grace and enter into God’s Kingdom you will be missed for all eternity by God, and no one will ever be able to take your place! – Ever! You are an individual thought of God, individually willed and individually loved, a child of God, loved by the Father, and He will go out of His way just for you, even when you are lost. Jesus tells us this Himself, do you remember the parable of the lost sheep. Jesus left the 99 who were with Him to find the one that was lost, because to God, that one lost sheep is irreplaceable! (Luke 15:3-7). Each of us is “necessary” to God. St Pio writes that, “not only does God not reject repentant souls, but He goes in search of obstinate ones.” Whatever your state in life you are necessary to God.
“There is nothing more beautiful than to be surprised by the Gospel, by the encounter with Christ.” The Scriptures are the living Word of God and are capable of “surprising” us every day if we allow them to. The Bible is not a book of dead words, but is the Living Word of God, speaking to each individual in their own time and place, fulfilling their needs, guiding them, encouraging them, enlightening them, and filling their souls with God’s divine life. To read the scriptures is to have an “encounter” with Christ, and that encounter will change our lives if we allow it to. St Jerome tells us that “ignorance of scripture is ignorance of Christ.” Sometimes lives are changed in an instant, like St Paul on the road to Damascus, sometimes it will take many years, but the end result is the same – eternal life!
“There is nothing more beautiful than to know Him and to speak to others of our friendship with Him” The Pope is speaking here of a personal relationship with Jesus, he does not say to “know about” Jesus, but to “know Him.” It would be no exaggeration to say that to know Jesus is the most beautiful thing in the world. We all need the love of Jesus in our lives, some of us know that, and others do not, but each of us has a “God shaped hole in our hearts” as someone once put it, and that hole can only be filled with God’s love, if we do not allow this to happen we will always have something missing in our lives that we shall continually long for. There are many people in the world today who have this longing, but they do not know what it is; it is our duty as Christ’s followers to try to bring God’s love to all, this is best done by living the life of faith and by speaking to other of our friendship with our heavenly Father and His Son,
Jesus Christ.
Let us give thanks, together, for the gift of Christ Jesus. To know, love and serve Him is our joy and consolation. (A meditation by Geoff)