The Center for contemplative practice
A Lay Cistercian Looks at Spiritual Reality
THE CONSEQUENCES OF SEEKING GOD DAILY
Philippians 2:5 is my Lectio Divina mantra. Today, I thought about the consequences of a simple YES or NO to seeking God in daily living. YES is usually seen as an enabling word while NO is usually, but not always, blocking (e.g. NO to sin means YES to God). Here are some of my thoughts on the choices people have made. You can judge what the consequences might be.
- God created everything that is with a Word. What was that Word? (John 1:1) YES
- God created the archangels and angels to minister to Him with that same Word. YES
- Lucifer made the free choice of wanting to be God, someone He was not. NO
- God created Adam from the soil, and Eve from his rib, to be a Gardner and tend the Garden of Eden. YES
- Adam and Eve made the free choice of wanting to be God’s divine nature and not their human nature. NO
- Lucifer (the serpent) seduced Adam and Eve with the false promise of being like God. Lucifer said NO to God’s will be done in his heart as it is in heaven, once more.
- Cain said NO to God by killing Abel.
- Abram’s conversion from pagan gods to the one true God. YES
- The entire Old Testament as the story to prepare for the coming of Christ as Redeemer and Messiah. YES
- Moses and Aaron who led the chosen people through the desert to enter the promised land. YES
- The Twelve Tribes who, like the Catholic Church of today, wander now and then from the path of righteousness and God’s fidelity to his covenant. YES
- David as one who becomes God’s champion only to squander it away with lust and greed. The NO changes to YES after his humiliation and forgiveness by God.
- Jeremiah and Isaiah, plus other prophets who kept telling Israel to repent and keep the covenant. YES for the Prophets, NO for the ten lost tribes.
- Mary, Mother of God, was the first believer of the Church Universal. She was overshadowed by the Holy Spirit and responded to Faith with a commitment that God’s will be done to her as it is in heaven. LET IT BE DONE TO ME ACCORDING TO YOUR WILL.
- Joseph, the foster-father of Jesus, said YES to the birth of Jesus and to Mary as his wife.
- St. John the Baptist was second to proclaim that Christ was he who is to come, the Messiah. YES
- Jesus of Nazareth, Son of God, became our Savior and Redeemer. (Philippians 2:5) YES
- The twelve Apostles were overshadowed by the Holy Spirit and then said YES.
- All those following the birth of Christ who proclaims Christ as Son of God, Redeemer, through Baptism and the Spirit. (John 20:30-31) YES
- The Church Triumphant is composed of all those who have died with the sign of Faith (the cross) and those God has judged as worthy. YES, Forever.
- The Church Militant is composed of all those who are still living, marked with the sign of Faith, and awaiting death. YES with the help of God’s grace.
- The Church Purgative is composed of all those who have died but get a second chance at believing that Jesus Christ is Son of God, Savior. Those in the Church Triumphant and Church Militant can pray for them that they are loosed from their sins. I hope that the words of Christ to us are true.
The consequences of sin are cosmic and affect not only our life now, but in the life to come.
- For those who say YES to having God’s will done in their hearts, the reward is faith, hope, and love.
- For those who say YES to taking up your cross daily and following Christ, the product is love.
- For those who say YES to having in them the mind of Christ Jesus on a daily basis, the product is joy and happiness that what you have chosen is what Christ chose to share with those who love him.
- For those who say YES to Christ as Redeemer, Messiah, Priest, Prophet, and King, you proclaim the death of the Lord until he comes in glory.
- For those who say YES to Christ in Baptism, Confirmation of the Spirit, giving Thanks to the Father through, with and in Christ (Eucharist) and asking mercy and forgiveness of sins, the consequences are peace. The peace of Christ is not the absence of dissent or conflict in your life but the presence of Love, Christ’s own body and blood in you, daily.
- For those who say YES to the Real Presence of Christ in Eucharistic Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament, you are experiencing heaven on earth.
- For those who say YES to daily practices of contemplative prayer, you sit in the presence of the One who Is, the consequence is God’s own energy permeating not only your body, but your mind, and your heart.
Praise to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, now and forever. The God who is, who was, and who is to come at the end of the ages. Amen and Amen. –Cistercian doxology
The Center for contemplative practice 