When we go out to work for the Lord, Jesus doesn't promise us a place to lay our heads (Lk 9:58). Working in the vineyard for Jesus isn't the place to be focused on what's in it for us. The Lord knows our hearts. He knows how easy it is for us to be distracted by our self-interests. Before Jesus started His public ministry, He was confronted with the temptations of the devil to focus on how He could profit from His ministry (Mt 4:3-9). Satan tried to entice Jesus to take His eyes off His Father and put them on Himself. Jesus triumphed over these temptations by fixing His eyes completely on His Father's will (Mt 4:10).
Let's spend our day and our lives preoccupied with making a return to the Lord for all the good He has done for us (Ps 116:12). In focusing on giving all to Jesus, we paradoxically increase our own reward; this is because God cannot be out-given, for He is exceedingly generous (see Mt 19:29; Heb 6:10; Mt 10:41-42). However, once we entertain the thought of giving more to God so that we will receive more, we begin a downward spiral in which we focus increasingly on ourselves and lose focus on the Lord and His beloved flock. The Lord calls us to seek first the Kingdom of God and His way of service (Mt 6:33), and leave the rest in His loving hands (Mt 6:34). We are to focus on giving the Master a fruitful harvest and increasing His joy (Mt 25:21).
Don't think, "What's in it for me?" Beg the Father for the grace to instead think, "What's in it for Jesus?"
| PRAYER: | Father, may I decrease so that Jesus may increase (Jn 3:30). |
| PROMISE: | "For thus says the Lord God: I Myself will look after and tend My sheep." –Ez 34:11 |
| PRAISE: | Pope St. Pius X, born of humble beginnings, was raised up by the Holy Spirit to serve a tumultuous, violent world. |
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