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Moment Aside --- 16 April 2021
“Be careful with your life.
It might be the only Gospel that some people will
read.”
This quote is attributed to St. Francis of Assisi in the cartoon. In other places, it is attributed to a man named William Thoms or William Toms. I certainly could not say. Lots of worthwhile quotes are attached to many people.
Be that as it may. The message remains true. It is in the
lives of Christians that the Gospel is best seen. Reading the written Gospels
can be compelling. It can also be an intellectual exercise, the reading of a
piece of literature that has no real meaning to the way of life of the one who
had read those Gospels.
It is in the life of Christians that the living Christ is
found. When we live out our Gospel call, it might become something that would
inspire another person to want what we have found to base our lives on.
We all know that there are bad examples of the Christian
life. We also know that there are fine examples of Christ-like living around us.
One repels us and one might draw us. Still even the bad example could lead to
real call to true repentance in order to respond to the grace that is seen in
the lives of people we might call a better example.
Between those two are the majority of us who trust in Jesus
and yet fail in our following. Read the Gospels again; they carry the stories
of many who have failed and faltered and yet reflect Christ in their lives.
(Peter, Paul, Thomas, and many others)
The Gospels end in Resurrection… and that’s how we want our
lives to end up as well.
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