«Courage To Be A Child Of God» by JCD Fr. Joseph Bellerive

At a moment when some people seem to dismiss the necessity of the divine in their lives, it is important to remember that we are more than men and women living in this world with the capability of doing bad things. Whether we accept it or not, we all are children of God. Within us there is this divine dimension which gives us the ability to do good things if we remain obedient to God. We all belong to God and not to the State. It means that we must give to God what belongs to God and to the State what belongs to the State. We either acknowledge Christ or we ignore Him. It is important to remember that God teaches us to love one another and to turn the other cheek whenever we are
attacked by another person or group of people. An Eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, complete ignorance of the presence of another person, this is not the way Jesus wants us to be with people. When a messenger of God gives a message which appears to be describing a person's lifestyle that needs to be reformed, no one should receive it as a personal attack directed to him/her. The purpose of the message should not be seen as a judgment rather an invitation to a conversion of heart. Through a priest's sermons, the Holy Spirit calls a person to change his/her life. The enemy, who does not want us to give priority to God, will use all kinds of tactics to undermine the call for us to reform our hearts and our lives. If we decide not to live according to this invitation, we are punishing ourselves and we will miss the most important element of life which is to be at
peace with God. How can we be at peace if we don't do our best to walk in the path that He has paved for us? Though some people believe that there is no more sin, and whatever lifestyle a person decides to embrace is Okay, if we are believers, we cannot fool ourselves. We all can make mistakes; but we should not take the license to remain in them for the rest of our lives. It is essential that we become aware of the damage and the seriousness of the situation so that we don't remain in our mediocrity. The Lord gives us His body as food for our salvation. To live according to the sacraments, given to us by Jesus, requires a gesture of humility which gives us the wisdom to choose the Lord and His message instead of being confused and living in the illusions of this world.
This is the reason why it takes a lot of courage for a person in this current environment to accept to be a child of God.