Friday 15th
May 2020. Read Acts 15:22-31, Psalm 57 and John 15:12-17.
_“For it has seemed good to the Holy Spirit
and to us to impose on you no further burden than these essentials: that you
abstain from what has been sacrificed to idols and from blood and from what is
strangled and from fornication. If you keep yourselves from these, you will do
well.” *(Acts 15:28-29)*_
It is one
thing to know a person, but a different thing to be a friend to that person. We
all know God as Christians but the question is: “Am I a friend to God?” And the
way to answer this question is to examine whether or not we are doing what God
commands. It will be a contradiction if we say we are friends of God yet we do
the things He hates.
In today’s
first reading, a decision was reached regarding the Gentiles coming into the
Christian Faith. They wouldn’t have to be circumcised but they were to abstain
from items sacrificed to idols, from the blood of strangled animals and from
fornication.
These were
cultural/religious practices already in place among the Gentiles which they
were now to renounce by virtue of their Christian faith. The lesson this
teaches us is that becoming a friend of God, becoming a Christian so to say
demands a certain level of sacrifice on our part.
We must be
willing to let go of our old ways; our desire for worldly pleasures, our
worship of false gods whether directly or indirectly through such practices as
eating a meal sacrificed to idols. Friendship with God comes at a cost. There
must be a cross to carry and a new life to embrace.
In his
love for us, Jesus went all the way to sacrifice his very life for us. “Greater
love has no man than this; that a man lay down his life for his friends.” How
do we reciprocate this love? By laying down our own lives, that is, giving up
our will to obey the will of God.
Friendship
with God comes at a cost but there is also a prize for it. Jesus says: “I chose
you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit
should abide; so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, he may give it to
you.” (John 15:16). When we read the lives of the Saints, we are amazed at
their great accomplishments and miracles. The truth is that they were friends
of God. Wouldn’t you rather be a friend of God?
Let us
pray: Lord Jesus, help me remain your friend forever and give me the grace to
truly bear fruits for you. Amen.
Be Happy.
Live Positive. Have Faith. It is well with you. God bless you. (Friday of the
5th Week of Easter. Bible Study: Acts 15:22-31, Psalm 96 and John 15:12-17).
No comments:
Post a Comment