Reflections of a beloved son

Eternal life does not only begin when we die. The world preaches a world of immediate pleasures and gratification and a disordered understanding of "living in the present moment." For today's world "living in the present moment" means to take advantage of everything and everyone for our own benefit and pleasure. "You only live once." We all want to live joyful and full lives but living it in a way that pursues selfish pleasure does not lead to it. Jesus tells us that to know Him and the Father is to have eternal life. Eternal life begins now. To live in the present moment and to seize the day is to live eternal life - living life to the full, living life knowing we have been so loved and blessed. So loved and blessed not because we earned it, but because we have a Father who loves us for who we are.

When tragedy strikes or when people find themselves in a situation where they feel helpless, they might say, "All we can do now is pray." It is a good thing people turn to prayer, but prayer is not something that should happen just when bad things happen! Prayer is not some meaningless and time-passing activity. Prayer is an ongoing relationship with the Father who fashioned us, created us, and loves us. We can pray wherever and whenever. Every moment of our lives can be prayer.

The Bible has quite a number of strikingly memorable verses (I mean the entire Bible is but there are some that just sticks to your brain), and among them is this one: " No one who sets a hand to the plow and looks to what was left behind is fit for the kingdom of God " (Lk. 9:62).  Jesus was not playing around - He sounded pretty serious.  This reminds me of another verse from the first book of Kings where the aging and dying David tells his son Solomon, "Be strong and be a man!" (1 Kg. 2:2).  To be a Christian, a follower of Christ, and a beloved child of God means to be present, look forward and not dwell on the past.   Christians are people of the here and now.  When Jesus invited the people to follow Him, they made excuses and pleaded to let them take care of some business first and then they will follow.  But Jesus basically said, "No, it's now or never." Now, don't get confused.  Jesus was not telling the people to abandon their work, fami...