“Today I have set before you life and prosperity, death and doom. If you obey the commandments of the LORD, your God, which I enjoin on you today… you will live.” Dt 30:15-20
Today’s first reading reminds us of a simple yet powerful truth: to follow God means to choose life, and to do otherwise, means death. As a cradle Catholic, this seemed like an obvious truth to me. One of the first teachings I ever received in my catechetical formation as a young child was that if I followed God’s commandments, I could attain the gift of eternal life. As such, I grew up believing that by knowing His commandments, I was already choosing life.
Yet, as the challenges of adult life started presenting themselves, I realized it is one thing to know God’s commandments, and it is another thing to actually follow them. To follow the conscience God has given us requires a lot of strength. I thought that if I knew what was right and wrong, surely it would be easy to choose what was right when the time came. But I was so wrong. I failed to recognize my innate human brokenness and weakness and did not understand how difficult temptation can be on the soul. Time after time, I found myself falling into the weakness of choosing the easier path in life, despite knowing full well I should have done otherwise. How could I, someone who I thought was so strong in his faith, let temptation lure me so easily? The answer was easy: I am human. A weak and broken one. And unless I hold on extremely tight to God and beg him for the strength to choose righteously, I will continually fall into sin. And that is what I strive for this Lent: to be aware of my weakness and hold on so tight to Jesus, that I see no other option than choosing life.
This Lent, I invite you to question what area of your life needs the most strength. Ask God for the grace to give it to you. And if you fail, ask again. And if you fail again, keep asking. Do not give up on yourself. For to give up on yourself, is to give up on God.
-Anonymous