Show Yourselves!

Come out and show yourselves!  This is what the Lord said to the People through the Prophet Isaiah (Is. 49:8-15) in today's first reading.  Do we hide who we really are because we are ashamed of who we believe that we are?  Do we believe the lies about ourselves that the world drills into our minds?  God says to us: "Come out and show yourselves!"

We must not believe in the lies what others and the world say about who we are.  Who we are is not based on any material thing.  We are not what we do.  We are not what we have.  We are not what others say that we are.  The essence of who we are is rooted in the Father.  We are children of God.  We are His beloved ones.  Our true identity lies in something that is eternal, and nothing that is temporal and limited.  If we root our identity in things that are not permanent and transient, we are guaranteed to get hurt and eventually find ourselves confused and sad.  We are not our occupations. We are not our possessions.  We are not the sum of the praises or criticisms others give us.  All those things will change at some point.  We may get fired from our jobs.  Things break and stop working.  People's opinions about us will change.  These things are not eternal.  It is so easy and tempting to want to root ourselves in those things that are changing, but we must not! And yet who we are is eternal - we are God's beloved.  Even when we lose our job, lose our possessions, and lose the praise of others, God's love for us, and the fact and truth that we are God's beloved will never change or be lost.  (More about this in a later entry)

Because of this truth, we can confidently come out and show ourselves.  We should not be ashamed of who we are: God's beloved.  Yes, even in our sinfulness, flaws, and weaknesses God loves us.  Do not let anyone tell you otherwise.  You are loved. 

Today let us ask the Father for the grace to believe in His love for us, and that He does indeed call us His beloved.  May we be humble enough to let the Father love us.     

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