Lent – Day 27: Obsession with ends and goals

Wisdom 2: 1a, 12-22

“Let us observe what kind of end he himself will have…Let us test him with cruelty and with torture…Let us condemn him to a shameful death since he will be looked after – we have his word for it.”

This is the plot of evil people, because they could not stand the goodness of God’s children. According to the Book of Wisdom, they were mistaken in their thoughts. The reward of the righteous is not just in their end or death but in their life. Life is a journey whose ride we are meant to enjoy. It is not merely a destination to be reached. We are often too obsessed about getting to our destination, metaphorically and literally, that we fail to enjoy the journey. We move from our homes to our offices without noticing the magic and the miracle along the way. To be a child of God is to enjoy the freedom of being alive; it is to be intoxicated with the beauty and the richness of each day; it is to experience the miracle and the magic of relationship and love. It is to see the banquet and the harvest of life and not to experience life as a funeral. What the evil people in today’s first reading did not realise is that the children of God do not have to wait to be God’s children; they do not have to wait to enjoy their father’s love; they do not have to wait to experience life in abundance; they do not have to wait to experience the protection and security of God. It is not in their destination or in their end alone that makes them stand out, but in the beauty of their journey. They are already experiencing the protection, the security, and the love of their father. And a sign of this relationship with God is the comfort and the assurance and the faith that God is always with them, with all of us that dare to call ourselves God’s children. Being with God does not mean that we will have a storm-less voyage; it does not mean that we will have a cross-less life; it does not mean that we will not face persecution. It means that we will have life in abundance. It means that we will not live in graves but will be beacons of life and light. It means that we will not be slaves of sin and fear but experience the freedom and the joy of life.  It means that the Lord will always be with us to give us strength. So as God’s children, we do not have to wait for a reward or for a pie in the sky; our life as God’s children is itself a reward and a gift beyond all measure.

Life is an adventure, enjoy the ride; and what a ride it is when we ride with God.

May God give us the grace to experience the joy of being His Children!