will for me.” These are hard words, at least for me. I really know them to be true, because there have been times in my life when that was precisely what I wanted. But it is easy to forget – or ignore. I have other obligations, “great” obligations – family, work, school, friendships and relationships, and the list
goes on. Is my great obligation really to obey God, to seek his will carefully with a pure and empty heart? That seems to have been Jesus’ conviction – “not my will but yours be done”-- he said over
and over again. And I think that he expects no less from us who claim to be is followers. It isn’t easy. There are pressures from without and from within to choose another will – our own, our parent’s, our friend’s, our in-crowd’s. But in the final analysis choosing a will other than that which God intends for us doesn’t really satisfy and ultimately doesn’t matter. Just this morning I read of a man who was faced with a choice when his boss said – “You need to choose, your job or Jesus. I’ll give you a week to think about it.” The young man, who has a family, said: “I don’t need a week. I choose Jesus.” He knew his great obligation was to obey God and seek his will. Maybe the real challenge is there in Merton’s closing words – “this means certainly a deep consent to all that is actually and manifestly His will for me.” “A deep consent.” A consent is an expressed willingness. Am I willing to obey God and seek his will for my life? And am I cultivating that willingness so that it is becoming stronger and stronger and more central in my life? What would this look like in our lives, in our family relationships, our work, our school, our associations? I’m pretty sure that while it might not be easy, it will ultimately satisfy.
Peace
