I always feel a little bit awkward when I talk about God and Jesus and holiness and spirituality. It’s not that I don’t believe in those things. I do. It’s just that I don’t really think I’m the holiest of people. We go to Mass, and we pray, and we talk about God. But when I pray, I tend to day dream; when we talk about God, it sometimes feels more academic than it ought to, and when we go to church, I spend the whole time corralling toddlers, and if for a brief moment, they are both calm, I might accidentally sometimes kind of tickle one of them or in some other way engage them rather than directing my attention to where it is supposed to be.
But I try.
I’m just not a loud preacher type. I admire people who are. But it’s just not me.
But I have this blog, and I tend to write whatever random thoughts pop into my head (for better or for worse,) and so when topics of holiness pop into my head, it feels weird not to write about them. Even though it feels weird TO write about them.
But I just had a brief thought today, and I thought I would share it.
What if we viewed all people as children of God?
It sounds simple enough. Magoo has only had two years of Catholic school, but I don’t think it took her even two days to learn that we are all children of God. It’s pretty much the underlying premise of Christianity. I think it’s a way in to Christianity for many. For many who have fallen away and fallen into lives and lifestyles and situations that don’t feel right and don’t leave them feeling right for themselves, it can be what draws them back — the idea that God loves them and forgives them and died for them. We love the idea of God’s children when it pertains to us. And we should. It’s a great thing.
But what if we started focusing on looking at others as children of God? Sure we volunteer in order to help God’s children, and we dutifully donate money to help other of his children. But what if we used that knowledge in ways that really, really matter? In ways that can change the world because they change our very souls?
What if we keep that knowledge in mind with the lady who cuts in front of us at the deli line?
With the irritating gentleman at work who is always looking over our shoulder?
With the spouse who keeps leaving his dirty socks all around the house?
With the jerk gentleman who cuts us off on the way to pick our kids up from school and nearly hits us?
When it comes to others, particularly those we don’t know all that well, we tend to judge them by their actions. By their effects on us. And if those effects aren’t good, if they inconvenienced us or if they put us out, well then we don’t judge them all too well. And for those who are very close to us, we often are able to see the good, but again, we focus on the interactions, on what we expect from them, on what we need from them, on what they can do for us.
And we all know that’s egocentric. We know it ignores the whole person. But it’s hard to help it because It’s part of our nature.
But what if we tried, for even one hour, to get out of that? What if for every person we looked in the eye, we tried to really feel how deeply they are cherished by God. What if we remember that they are dear enough to the Lord for Him to die for them?
They are His children. And what if we treated them as such? What if we saw it as our duty to be the love for others that God wants them to feel? What if we really attempted to hold all of God’s children tenderly because that is how He wants them held? What if we took a moment and stepped out of our own lives and our own dramas and our own challenges and instead we focused on being the hands and feet for Christ in this world?
I don’t have the answers. I don’t know what life would look like if we lived it through that lens because at least up through this time in my life, I have never been able to maintain it. I suspect it would never be something that would come easy. But of course, path that are easy often aren’t worth traveling down.
I guess it’s just a small whisper that I hear occasionally. A challenge left in my heart.
And so I thought I would share it with you all.
But that’s about it. That’s my lesson in spirituality for the evening. And now I’m done talking about holiness and I will go back to watching reality television and catching up on Facebook. You know — the things that usually occupy my mental space.
Have a great night!