Trying

“For to everyone who has, more will be given, and he will have more than enough. But from the one who does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him.” (Matthew 25:29).

Searching for Jesus WHo Looks Like Me (Unknown)

The other day my eldest son completed some exams at school.  Though he did a very good job and did quite well in those exams, his teachers were disappointed.  This may seem strange, considering that the child passed these exams and got marks that could be considered quite good.  And yet, when you looked at the reasons for the disappointment the reasons were sound.  You see, my son had the potential to get a much higher grade in some of those exams than he actually got.  This is not to say that he was lazy or did anything wrong – his marks were a pass and proved he was competent in the material being taught.  But what it did prove was that he had not done anything more than the bare minimum…  And the result of that bare minimum effort for that child was that he achieved a grade that would have been quite impressive to another child, provided that they had put in the maximum possible effort…

And I have been thinking about that today.  You see, it was not that my son did not do well in those exams – he certainly did – it is that he did not do as well as expected considering his natural abilities and potential.

And THAT is really the crux of the issue.  And I have been thinking about that today as I have been thinking about what God expects of us…

“For to everyone who has, more will be given, and he will have more than enough. But from the one who does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him.” (Matthew 25:29).

I know a very good priest who is now an elderly man.  He often asks me to pray for him.  He tells me that during his younger years he lived – for a time – with Saint Josemaria.  And this means that having lived with a Saint and witnessed the living example of sanctity, God has greater demands on him and must have higher expectations of his potential for sanctification as he had a better living example of it than most other people.

And this influence of sanctity rubs off in a way, much like the children of successful and well-educated and hard-working parents tend to become the same more often than the children of parents who have lower levels of education and opportunities in their own life…

And I have been thinking about this in terms of my son and his efforts.  He has much and his teachers demand much more of him than they would of another student because of the natural ability he possesses.  It is the same with me and God.  I have MUCH.  God gave me faith and a family who have faith.  I was raised in faith and given a great love for God.  And in this I need to remember that God should not be disappointed when I get to the end of my life and He measures whether I was trying hard enough.  “For to everyone who has, more will be given…” (Matthew 25:29). And today, I realise, that I am one of those “everyones”…

For with prayer, I stand on Holy Ground where everything is clear. Here. At the Foot of the Cross.