Father vs Master

Would you ever call Satan your Father?

Think about it. When we refer to those who follow God and those who follow Satan we tend to use different terminology. While one who worships God usually calls Him "Father", one who worships Satan prefers "Master". When we delve into what each of these terms imply we can only realize how appropriate it is to the respective relationship.

A father is one who leads his child hand-in-hand. A father loves and nurtures his child, and looks out for the good of his child. He may allow his child to stumble in order to learn to pick himself up, but he will always be standing ready to help. The word Master on the other hand elicits a more selfish and inward focus. Instead of children, the master has servants or slaves that he commands to do things which benefit only him. Satan as a master is not concerned for the welfare of his servants, he values only his own vanity and glory.

Why would we want to be slaves to sin?

Some may feel like they have more freedom under the dominion of Satan--they can lie, cheat, sleep around, watch porn, steal, murder, abandon responsibility and live outside of the rules. Life seems easy. They may think this is the definition of freedom, yet it is only tightening the manipulative hold their Master has around their souls. The only reason Satan allows his slaves to participate in these activities is because it benefits himself personally and his ultimate goal, which is to bring a downfall of humanity. He doesn't care that these things destroys a person--that is exactly what he wants. It is how he keeps his followers wrapped around his finger, by disguising evil as good and enticing. And once they have been sucked into the black hole of sin, Satan makes it extremely difficult to get out--he bombards them with temptation to continue on that destructive path in order to ensure that their souls will never be free to escape his hold. Satan is incapable of love.

God is love. God wants us to feel loved and stay in love forever, and to abide in love with Him for eternity. But as much as he wills us to stay on the right path in order to be with Him, he does not force us. He has given us the gift of free will so that we can choose for ourselves to remain with God. Isn't that what every loving father wants? Of course he could say "I'm your dad and I say so", but a father would much rather have his child make the decision themselves.

So do we follow a father who loves us and wants only the best for us? Or do we follow a master who wants to control us and manipulate us? Would we rather be a child of God or a slave of sin?

The choice is ultimately ours.

Hung on a Cross

Are we desensitized to the crucifixion?

We see the depiction of Christ hanging from the cross seemingly everywhere--around someone's neck, photos on the walls, a large wooden sculpture in a church. As with any image we've seen many a dozen times, it becomes just that. An image. We see it, recognize it's meaning...but do we really feel it's meaning? Or have we developed a hardness of heart to its emotional, personal meaning to us?

Each and every one of us are called to meditate deeper on the meaning of the crucifixion--especially on this Good Friday.

Why?

If we ask ourselves this question every time we see a depiction of the Crucifixion we can pull ourselves away from that common desensitization. Just one simple word can spark a call to action and change in our lives.

Why did Christ die for us? We can only imagine what it entailed--torture, ridicule and an excruciatingly painful death. So why did He suffer for a people who denied him? We certainly didn't deserve it--it wasn't owed to us by any means. As humanity, we already had our chance and we failed. We disappointed God, our Creator, and broke the relationship we had with Him. We are a fallen people and we didn't deserve a second chance. And yet, He gave us one. Why?

Love of a Father.

God is Love, and Love is what saved us. Love is the force that moved Christ to make that sacrifice on the cross. Love gave us the chance to be reconciled with God so we can come home to Him. God doesn't just love us as a whole humanity, He loves us each individually. And that sacrifice of blood was poured over each of us. "Let his blood be on us and on our children!" A fulfillment of the blood covenant that extends to us as individuals. But it is up to us to accept this offer to join our Creator in Heaven when our lives here are finished. The gates are open, but we must choose to walk the path now that will lead us there. How?

Love of a Child.

A child who loves their father does everything they can not to disappoint him. They walk with him hand-in-hand with adoration and admiration, looking to him for example. So should we walk hand-in-hand with our Father, and we should adore Him in how we talk and how we act. And when we look to Him for example we see that we are called to love. If we accept this call, to love as Christ loved us--loved us so deeply that he sacrificed His life--it will transform our lives.

Make every act an act of love. And the next time we look at a crucifix, let that be a reminder to us that the Love of a Father is what put Christ on that Cross, and the Love of a Child is what will reunite us with Him.

Pick Up The Phone

In this day and age it is easy to fall into the endless cycle of texting and e-mailing. We opt for these quicker, less personal means of communication over taking time out of our busy schedules to call our friends. I'm sure each of us is guilty of this. I'm also sure each of us truly appreciates it when we do finally speak with our friends directly. No amount of typed letters and emoticons can take the place of verbal communication, or express so accurately the emotions displayed in our voices. There is something deep and meaningful about picking up the phone that shows our friends we truly care.

Similar is our relationship with God.

Too often do we push aside spending time in personal prayer each day; too often do we make excuses and take the quick and easy route. Throughout our busy day other things always seem to take priority, and by the time our head hits the pillow we barely remember to mutter a rushed Our Father or Hail Mary. Sometimes we may even manage to get through a whole decade of the Rosary! While we may take comfort in the fact that our guardian angel will finish our prayers for us, or we have nuns and saints praying for us on our behalf, it is just not enough. Just like our friends, God longs for that personal conversation with us--something more than just a half-hearted text message.

That personal type of communication may be different for each of us. For some it may take place in quiet meditation with God, for others it may be through music--it may take place sitting on a bench in the park, or kneeling in the Adoration chapel. Whichever way we feel closest to God, it is important to do it on a consistent basis in order to foster a deeper relationship. Just like calling our friends shows our appreciation for them, spending time in personal prayer shows our love for God. We must make sure that our busy lives don't put a rift between us and our Creator.

Pick up the phone and give God a call. You won't want to ever hang up.