Jesus was a carpenter by trade, but His real trade was building the Kingdom of God, take five minutes to read and reflect on these two builder stories.
C. S. Lewis wrote, "Imagine yourself as a living house. God comes in to rebuild that house. At first, perhaps, you can understand what He is doing. He is getting the drains right and stopping the leaks in the roof and so on: you knew that those jobs needed doing and so you are not surprised. But presently he starts knocking the house about in a way that hurts abominably and does not seem to make sense. What on earth is He up to?
The explanation is that He is building quite a different house from the one you thought of – throwing out a new wing here, putting on an extra floor there, running up towers, making courtyards. You thought you were going to be made into a decent little cottage, but He is building a palace. He intends to come and live in it Himself."
[Mere Christianity, p. 205]
Think about This Carpenter’s House!
An elderly carpenter was ready to retire. He told his employer-contractor of his plans to leave the house building business and live a more leisurely life with his wife enjoying his extended family. He would miss the paycheck, but he needed to retire. They could get by. The contractor was sorry to see his good worker go and asked if he could build just one more house as a personal favor. The carpenter said yes, but in time it was easy to that his heart was not in his work. He resorted to shoddy workmanship and used inferior materials. It was an unfortunate way to end his career.
When the carpenter finished his work and the builder cane to inspect the house, the contractor handed the front-door key to the carpenter. “This is your house, he said, “my gift to you.” What a shock! What a shame! If he had only known he was building his own house, he would have done it all so differently. Now he had to live in the home he had built none too well.
So, it is with us. We build our lives in a distracted way, reacting rather than acting, willing to put up less than the best. At important points we do not give the job our best effort. Then with a shock we look at the situation we have created and find that we are now living in the house we have built. If we had realized that we would have done it differently.
Think of yourself as the carpenter. Think about you house. Each day you hammer a nail, place a board, or erect a wall. Build wisely. It is the only life you will ever build. Even if you live it for only one day more, that day deserves to be lived graciously and with dignity. The plaque on the wall says, “Life is a do-it-yourself project.”
Your life tomorrow will be the result of you attitudes and the choices you make today. We only have one life to live so let’s not worry about who is #1 but let’s try to serve those people who God puts in our lives. And let’s serve them with the best that we have because the house we build might by the house we live in!
St. James advises us, to “Submit yourselves to God.” God comes first! We cannot love the world and love God. St. Francis de Sales’ advises us to, “Observe God’s ways and not your own.”
Today reflect on how you can we observe God’s ways, while you plan for a houseguest named Jesus.
May God Be Praised!
COVID 19 Pandemic Prayer
Hear my cry! “Lord, listen to my prayer: turn your ear to my appeal.” You are my refuge and my hope, I turn to you during this COVID 19 Pandemic and plead for Your intercession. In Your mercy and Your compassion “… grant eternal rest to the dead, comfort to mourners, healing to the sick ….”
[Psalm 143 and Collect from Mass Time in Pandemic]
Provide strength to the first responders, compassion to the medical personnel, and wisdom to government leaders. End this coronavirus scourge. Send Your light to me as I wander in the darkness of this pandemic and give me hope in Your eternal love today and every day. Amen. [Dcn. George Kelly]
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