God's Will Be Done

In the recent biography about the life of Mother Theresa of Calcutta, one of her sisters recounts how she noticed the future saint staring at a painting of Jesus in the hallway of the convent. Not realizing that anyone was within earshot, Mother Theresa blurted out, "Oh Jesus, I have always said 'Yes' to you!" Mother Theresa's whole life may be summed up as one big 'Yes!' to the Lord. Her holiness stemmed from her desire to do God's will - to say "Yes!". Every poor person she gave shelter to, every hungry person she fed, every sick person she comforted, every good thing she did sprang from her commitment to God's will. And so, she stands as a shining example of how beautiful a life lived for God can be. Hers was a life built on the rock of God's will.

Jesus makes it clear at the end of the Sermon on the Mount. Only those who seek to do God's will, as Mother Theresa and so many other saints before her did, can enter the Kingdom of Heaven. We are saved because we have listened to Jesus' words and said "Yes" to them.

Saint Paul expands on this in the letter to the Romans. Because we have all sinned, we have fallen short of God's glory. We are not fully the men and women God created us to be in His image and likeness. But, because God has loved us so much, we have been justified through faith in Jesus. What does it mean to be justified by faith? As Saint Paul uses the term, justification means having our relationship with God repaired. Whereas sin has distanced us from God, we are made friends again with Him through our faith in Jesus.

Now, the faith that makes us friends with God is not simply believing that God exists or that Jesus died for us. Rather, the faith that brings us to salvation is the faith that seeks to do God's will. It is the faith that recognizes that God's will for us is better than whatever we may desire for ourselves. It goes back to what Jesus says in the gospel: the one who does God's will is the one who is pleasing to Him.

It takes a great deal of faith to entrust our lives into God's hands and say, "Do with me what you will." It takes a deep trust to believe that God knows better than we do what is good for us and what path we should walk. And, it takes a strong commitment to God for us to stop living for ourselves and our short-sighted plans and to devote ourselves totally to God's plan. Yet, we have that faith already as a gift through baptism. And, the Holy Spirit is at work in us to increase our desire and ability to do God's will and so to grow in holiness.

If we are to take Jesus' words to heart, then we must ask ourselves some difficult questions. Do we make our choices in life based on God's will? Does God's will determine how we live our lives? Does God's will affect the choices we make at work? Does God's will make a difference in how much of our time and money we volunteer to charity? Do we spend time in prayer trying to learn what God's will for us is? Do we ask God to reveal His will to us? And, do we say "Yes" to God every day of our lives? When our faith makes a difference in the way we live our lives and in the choices we make, then we know that it is real.

Once God and His will become the center of our lives, we live with a new sense of purpose and security. It is Jesus' promise to us that if we put His words into practice then our lives will have a firm, unmovable foundation. Our lives become like a strongly constructed home set on a bedrock foundation. No matter what storms may be brewing on the horizon, we rest easy. We come to trust that God will make everything work out for our good.

We can experience the blessing of a friendship with God which is ours simply for believing in the name of Jesus and dedicating every day of our lives to Him. If we are afraid to put our lives into God's hands, then we must pray for the confidence and faith to be able to trust God more fully. If we are confused about what God's will for our lives is, then we must ask Him to reveal it to us. No matter what our situation in life may be, it will never be easy for us to leave our own dreams in the sand and climb up onto the rock of God's plan for our life. But, what blessings we'll receive! What joy we'll experience! What a friend we will have in God! And, what a reward will be waiting for us when we finally enter heaven and gaze on the one we have said "Yes" to!