Jesus said to his disciples:
“I have come to set the earth on fire,
and how I wish it were already blazing!
There is a baptism with which I must be baptized,
and how great is my anguish until it is accomplished!” (Lk 12:49-50)
Jesus was a man of great passion and He invited His followers to share that passion.
There are many people that will never pick up that challenge.
One of the major reasons why they will not is because, in order to be consumed with the same passion as the Lord, we have to follow His path completely. That path potentially leads to great suffering.
We have often heard it said that we have to “die to self” if we are to follow the Lord. Death to self is not an easy reality. It is quite painful because we give up the things that make us happy. We give up the things that we desire. We give up the things that we often hold as great value.
We give those things up for the sake of something greater: the Lord.
However, the reward of our Lord is often one that is put off until we are called to Him at the end of our lives. We generally do not see that reward here on earth.
Being human beings, we look for rewards here on earth. We are grounded in the here and now. We do not like to think of deferring a reward, a pleasure, to some future time.
If we lived our lives consumed by the Spirit of God, we would change this world. Jesus knew that which is why His fervent prayer was that the earth would be “lit” by the gifts of the Spirit.
Try not to be selfish today. Try not to look for an immediate reward. Instead, do all that you can to embrace God and allow Him to set you afire with the flame of His love.
FAITH ACTION: Pray for the many graces you need today to be an effective witness to the Lord.