God’s plan is infinitely better then our plan….Its time to think BIG and stop playing it safe

Today at Holy Mass we hear in the Gospel of John something that goes against just about everything our American mindset was raised to believe….The need to bend our will……Americans are fiercely individualistic, which in many ways can be a good thing…However, when we tell ourself that we are the “master of our own universe”, we only set ourselves up for a huge wake-up call…..Jesus tells us today in the Gospel that even though he was God, he came to serve the Father and that nothing is more important than doing the Father’s will……. “Everything that the Father gives me will come to me, and I will not reject anyone who comes to me, because I came down from heaven not to do my own will but the will of the one who sent me”……..What about us?…..Who steers “your ship”?….If Jesus Christ who was God surrendered his will, what makes us think we are not called to do the same?…..This is where the rubber meets the road and the sheep are separated from the goats………God’s plan is infinitely better then our plan….Its time to think BIG and stop playing it safe

“He has changed the sea into dry land; through the river they passed on foot; therefore let us rejoice in him. He rules by his might forever”

People like to “think” they are in control….So we structure our life within the small confines of the things we “think” we control….Ultimately control is a self rationalization….In a New York minute everything we have can be taken away from us, including our health….Now that does not mean we should live recklessly but it does mean that we should not pretend that we are the authors of life and death because one day, “the party will end” and we all die…..God has given us through his Church a “blue-print” for a good and holy life…What prevents us from following it?…Only you can answer that…But the lives of the saints over the course of 2000 years show us that those who follow God’s “blue-print” bear tremendous fruit for the Kingdom of God…Fruit that lasts!……In the eyes of the world, following God’s plan and bending our will makes no sense!…However, we were not born to “appease the world”……We were born to be a light to the world…That means being and living differently………….When my wife was pregnant with our fifth child (Maria) I did not tell my boss until about three weeks before the baby was born….When I did, my boss at work was like…”Joe - You are crazy”…..Now this is coming from a man who could support 12 children easily with his salary…..But today in America as well as across most western countries, married couples “calculate” everything, even the gift of having children….Why?…We “think” that our plan is better than God’s plan to be open to life within our marriage…..My wife and I provide for all our children by the grace of God…We both work very hard and I am confident God will provide for us because we have surrendered our will to him in and through our marriage….Allow me to illustrate something that may make you think a bit about what I just wrote……We all know the story of Noah in the Old Testament…..Before he gathered his family and all the animals of the world into the ark he built, I sure he told his neighbors that a great flood was coming…And because “people are people”, I am also sure as Noah was building his ark his neighbors were saying....…”Look at Noah, he is crazy” - Just like my boss did when I had my fifth child….However, when the rains came down and the land flooded…And Noah got into his ark and his family was safe….Who made the right decision and who did not?….....Who was the crazy one?…..I think we all know the answer to that question in hindsight….The moral of my little story today is,…God’s plan ALWAYS works and he knows best!…Let “the world” think and say whatever they want……We must learn to trust God and “play the long game”…....Why?….Because God’s plan is infinitely better then our plan….Its time to think BIG and stop playing it safe

“Come and see the works of God, his tremendous deeds among the children of Adam.”

Today at Holy Mass we are reminded by St John that Jesus only did the will of God the Father…And Jesus gives us an example to follow…Why did Jesus do this?…Because he trusted in what God had to say and knew that God never disappoints….We must learn to foster this kind of trust…While we may be an educated and “sophisticated” people, we still do not know more then God….God’s laws are timeless and he knows what is best….Don’t let the “world” convince you otherwise…..Jesus himself tells us….”Amen, I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things have taken place. Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away”……God’s plan is infinitely better then our plan….Its time to think BIG and stop playing it safe