Giving up and making do

IF we are truly in love, we should be willing to do and

give our best even as we would be willing also to give up things that

are already a hindrance to that love, regardless of whether they

continue to be valuable. We also would know how to make do when

options are limited or when times are bad and not favourable to

loving.

   

            This has been shown by Christ himself. Being God, he

emptied himself to become man and continued to empty himself all the

way to offering his life on the cross for love of us and in obedience

to his Father’s will. (cfr. Phil 2,7)

  

            He lived what he taught. He offered his life to act out

what he said: “The Kingdom of Heaven is like a treasure hidden in the

field, which a man found, and hid. In his joy, he goes and sells all

that he has, and buys that field." (Mt 13,44)

  

            All saints did the same. St. Paul, for example, suffered

the loss of all things and regarded them as rubbish so he could gain

Christ. (cfr Phil 3,8) The apostles, like Peter and Andrew, James and

John, left their nets, their father and everything behind (relictis

omnibus) to follow Christ. (cfr Mt 4,18-22) Matthew left his lucrative

tax collector’s table to follow Christ. (cfr Mt 9,9-13)

  

            It’s when we are unwilling to give up things and make do

with whatever is available that we would fail to love and to follow

Christ. Remember that episode of the rich young man who wanted to be

holy and perfect. Since he was unwilling to detach himself from his

possessions, he could not follow Christ. (Mt 19,16-30)

  

            That episode triggered those now famous words of Christ:

“It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a

rich man to enter the kingdom of God.” (Mt 19,24)

  

            We have to learn how to give up things in order to follow

Christ and to make do with anything during difficult situations if

only to be with Christ. The events of every day actually offer us many

opportunities to learn this requirement of true love.

  

            That we give priority to our prayers in spite of

sacrifices involved and some urgent matters to face is one such

opportunity. That we are willing to be misunderstood and to be

inconvenienced if only to follow what Christ is clearly telling us to

do is another. Ultimately, we have to learn to leave our life here on

earth so we can have our life with God in heaven.

  

            In loving, there will always be choices to be made that

ultimately boil down to whether we choose to be with God, doing his

will, or to be by ourselves, pursuing only our own will.

  

            We should see to it that we make the right choice of

giving priority to God, convinced that with him we would also have

everything else that we need. We should be wary of being deluded by

the deceptive if very attractive arguments of our wounded flesh, the

things of the world and the devil himself.

  

            We should choose God first. He is actually the source of

love, the pattern, purpose and energy of love. Let’s be convinced that

if we are generous with him, he would be much more generous with us.

  

            So we somehow echo some lyrics of a modern love song that

express this sentiment. “I’d rather have bad times with you, than good

times with someone else. I’d rather be beside you in a storm, than

safe and warm by myself. I’d rather have hard times together, than to

it easy apart.” (From the song, “I’d rather,” as sung by Luther

Vandross)

   

            It’s the same sentiment expressed in one of the psalms.

“Better is one day in your courts than a thousand elsewhere. I would

rather be a doorkeeper in the house of God than dwell in the tents of

the wicked.” (84,10)