Life’s Too Short. Make Things Right With God.

27 Jan

“Life is very short and there’s no time for fussing and fighting, my friend.  I have always thought that it’s a crime, so I will ask you once again.”  ~ The Beatles, “We Can Work It Out”

The Beatles, The Beatles.  Oy.  The Beatles.  I grew up hating The Beatles.  Most probably because one of my older brothers loved The Beatles and would buy their records and play them incessantly.  Later in life, when I saw torture tactics in war movies, I understood what was going on because that had already happened to me!

But — and there always is a “but”, is there not? — there are some Beatles’ songs that are truly classics and give one a lot of reasons to ponder.  “We Can Work It Out” is one of those songs.  When I hear that song, I often hear Jesus singing it to us.  I know that it sounds goofy; however, if you think about it, doesn’t Jesus do that on a pretty regular basis?  Doesn’t He say something like, “Come on, folks, think about what you’re doing.  Life’s too short for all that you get yourselves entangled in.  So, I will ask you once again:  Try to see it my way.  Come back to me.  We can work it out.”

I can get really frustrated with people.  There are so many people who want everything their own way.  When it comes to their responsibility in the Church, they do not want to hear it.  They want to be convenience store Catholics.  They want a little of this, a little of that, and just a pinch of the other.  When we do not give them what they want, we end up being the ones labelled as unwelcoming, hurtful, power addicts and the like.

Hey, life is too short for the bickering and fighting.  Even more, life is too short to force our own way and get it wrong.  If you think about it, we are on this earth for a very short period of time and we need to get it right.

We cannot get it right if we insist upon our own way.  We cannot get it right if we continue to tune out the Lord.  We cannot get it right if we do not shoulder our crosses.  I wish there were an easier way for all of us.

The only way that we will get it right is if we walk with the Lord.

FAITH ACTION:  Have you drifted from God’s grace?  Trying to do too much on your own?  If so, make a mental list of what you need to do to set things right in your relationship with God.