Jesus wants us not only to look for Him, but also to look for Him for the right reason. If we look for Jesus to fill, fulfill, or feed ourselves, we aren't looking for Him for the right reason. Jesus and His Church are not a "filling station," although He will fill us with His Spirit. Paradoxically, in the Christian life, we are filled when we focus on emptying ourselves (see Phil 2:7). We are fulfilled when we deny ourselves (Lk 9:23). We are fed when we forget about ourselves and feed others.
If we love Jesus, our concern is to feed His sheep (Jn 21:17). In looking for Jesus, we should be looking for the cross, that is, to love sacrificially and unconditionally. We should be looking not "so much to be consoled as to console, to be understood as to understand, to be loved as to love" (Prayer of St. Francis).
Jesus asked His first disciples this question: "What are you looking for?" (Jn 1:38) By your life, how are you answering Jesus' question?
| PRAYER: | Father, purify my motives no matter what it takes. |
| PROMISE: | "Stephen...was a man filled with grace and power, who worked great wonders and signs among the people." –Acts 6:8 |
| PRAISE: | Richard, a father of six who works full time, spends any "spare" moments he has spreading God's Word. |
Reprinted with permission from Presentation Ministries, a lay association of the Catholic Church that focuses on evangelization and discipleship through Bible teaching, daily Mass, the charisms of the Holy Spirit, and Small Christian Community. Their ministries include:
· One Bread, One Body
· Daily Bread Radio Program
· Annual Bible Institute
· Discipleship Retreats
· Guadalupe Bible College