SHAPE YOUR WORLD BEFORE IT SHAPES YOU

SHAPE YOUR WORLD BEFORE IT SHAPES YOU

 

But according to his promise, we await new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells. – 2 Peter 3:13

 

My friend “Jim” was a drug addict. He lived in a rehabilitation center for a year. He went back home a new man.

But a few days after, an old friend who was a user visited him at home and offered him shabu. Jim refused. But he kept on meeting his old friends. After only three months, Jim relapsed and his addiction was more severe than before.

What caused his downfall? He shaped his inner world, but he didn’t shape his outer world. He needed a new set of friends. He needed a new itinerary. He also needed new hobbies, new music, new activities.

It’s pretty obvious. If you’re an alcoholic, stop hanging out with friends who drink. Hang out with new friends who don’t. If you’re a gambler, cut friendships with other gamblers. Hang out with people who don’t gamble.

Many people don’t use their power to choose their friends. They just accept the people who call up, visit and appear on their doorstep. Big mistake. Go out and choose the kind of people you like to become.

And then fulfill you dreams. Bo Sanchez (bosanchez@kerygmafamily.com)

 

REFLECTION:

What is it in my outer world that is influencing me in the wrong way?

 

Dear Lord, grant me the grace to detach myself from anything and anyone that obstructs me from becoming who You want me to be.

 

St. Iñigo, pray for us.

WHILE WAITING

 

Peter’s letter today reminds me of a study about school children being left by their teacher for a while, each one being given a marshmallow to eat. While they were free to eat it as they pleased, the children were told that those who could wait till the teacher got back and who could hold on to their marshmallow would be given more as reward. Those who wanted instant gratification ate their share just as soon as the teacher left. Those who somehow knew how to delay gratification and waited got more when the teacher returned.

Peter was writing to a church-inwaiting then. They were expecting the second coming of the Lord. And Peter helped them clarify what it meant to be waiting — yes, to wait actively in hope.

The children who could not wait simply gave in. They grabbed and gobbled to their immediate gustatory delight! But those who waited actively behaved differently. They tapped their fingers, traipsed, talked and tinkered. They sang. They did not wait passively but actively.

They were engaged, involved and committed to the demands of the moment. We are also a people in waiting. We live the in-between times of the Church, redeemed by that one saving act of the one mediator, Jesus Christ. We are a people on the march, like the Israelites on the desert. We long for our own Promised Land, the final and definitive one, whose fullness and fulfillment is not ours to pin down as to where, when and how. We are waiting for more than just an extra marshmallow. We are waiting for that place of utter bliss where dirty marshes are no more and where joy does not mellow — “what no eye has seen nor ear heard” — heaven, that is our only true and permanent home.

We ought to be like those children who waited actively. We ought to be engaged. We ought to be committed to helping God save a world that still  wallows in the marshes of sin. Let’s take it from Peter: “while waiting for this, make every effort to be found without stain or defilement, and at peace in his sight.” Fr. Chito Dimaranan, SDB

 

Reflection Question:

When you are made to wait, what do you usually do? Wait passively or wait actively?

 

Lord Jesus, remind me always that nothing is ever useless — waiting time included. Helpn me to use it for Your purpose and glory.                                                                                                                                               

 

St. Iñigo, pray for us.