More than a year ago, I wrote a blog titled I am a child of God! and posted a picture of a gardenia tree that I had transplanted and pruned. The four gardenias at the time seemed pretty bare and empty. It seemed like they would need more time to flourish. Still, the new location, pruning and feeding were all the right ingredients for rejuvenation.
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| Gardenia tree, 31 October 2022 |
Accepting the will of God is something every Christian asks each time they pray the Our Father. The four powerful words "Your will be done" are full of meaning, but we often rush over repeating them. Later, when things turn out a specific way, we can easily forget our petition to let things be according to God's will.
Our Lord leaves us with a set of words that take away any misconceptions about God we may have from the Old Testament. He says: "… love one another; even as I have loved you ..." (John 13:34). This helps us realise that when we ask God to do His will in our lives, he does so with the intention of love at the heart of everything.
"By prayer we can discern 'what is the will of God' and obtain the endurance to do it. Jesus teaches us that one enters the kingdom of heaven not by speaking words, but by doing 'the will of my Father in heaven.'" (CCC, 2826)
Accepting the will of the Father is easier said than done. As it requires a leap of faith to abandon your desire to want to control things and instead leave them in the hands of God. "So it is not the will of my Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones should perish." (Matthew 18:14).
Our Lord wants us to act like little children in a supernatural sense. We need to be simple in our actions living in the present moment. Children never look back to the past as a way of holding them from the present. Also, they do not worry about the future and what it holds. Children are so content living for today and in the present moment. They have complete trust in their parents, know the next meal will be provided, and forget unimportant things quickly. Each day brings their renewed hope for living that day to the fullest. Why are they not held back by the past or worried about the future?
As Christians and children of God, our heavenly Father has all in control. He provides us with all we need materially and spiritually in the right quantities to bring us happiness. However, when we start acting less like a child and more like an adult in our supernatural life, we lose faith in the Father. We seek more material things at the expense of spiritual wealth as the material is the only thing we feel we can control.
We come to realise that the Supernatural value of our life does not depend on accomplishing great undertakings suggested to us by our overactive imagination. Rather it is to be found in the faithful acceptance of God's will, in welcoming generously the opportunities for small, daily sacrifice. (Christ is passing by, 172)
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| Gardenia tree I pruned on 29 April 2021 |
In the moments carrying out the will of God can be difficult, but with time all things fall into place, and we see God's plan. It took time for the trees I pruned to grow and bloom, but now they are flourishing. However, a year ago, it seemed unlikely, judging the situation at the time.
What is the big deal? Doing the will of God does not concern anyone but myself?!
I would argue that doing the will of God in your life does have an impact on others. The most potent example is in the life of Mary and Joseph. Mary told the angel Gabriel "… let it be to me according to your word" (Luke 1:38). When Joseph was advised by the angel to take Mary and Jesus to Egypt to avoid the murder of Jesus "… he rose and took the child and his mother by night, and departed to Egypt".
Mary could have opted to say to the angel I will prefer to do my own will or Joseph could have said I have no interest in moving my life to Egypt. If they said no, which they were entitled to give, as God was not forcing them, we probably would not have called ourselves Christian today. The future of humanity would have taken a completely different course.
Doing the will of God is consenting to allow God to fit you like a puzzle piece into the more excellent puzzle God is building for us all. When we reject His will, we keep that piece missing and make it difficult to understand the bigger vision for humanity.
There are many people around you, and you have no right to be an obstacle to their spiritual good, to their eternal happiness. —You are under an obligation to be a saint. You must not let God down for having chosen you. Neither must you let those around you down: they expect so much from your Christian life. (The Forge, 22)
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