Why was Jesus Baptized? (Bishop Robert Barron)
If God said to you, like he did Solomon (1 Kings 3:9), "Whatever you ask, I will give you," what would you ask for?
When reading the Gospel of Matthew (7:7), we often think Jesus is simply saying he will give us everything we want, when he says: “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you."
But what did Solomon ask for when Jesus visited him in that dream?
He said:
"Give your servant . . . a listening heart to judge your people and to distinguish between good and evil . . . .” (1 Kings 3:9)
God liked this and told Solomon he would indeed give him a wise and discerning heart, and a long life, because "you did not ask for a long life for yourself, nor for riches, nor for the life of your enemies—but you asked for discernment to know what is right."
This exchange gives us a sense of what God wants us to desire. and when you think about it, what we are in desperate need of today--discernment of what is right, for one thing.
Sometimes knowing what is wrong can be a bit obvious, but we can get tangled up trying to figure out the right thing to do. We can be duped into thinking we are doing right, when in reality, we are being misled--whether by our own thinking or someone else.
Discernment--the process of prudently making decisions based on God's will for us--takes time and prayerful thought. Be sure you are doing that, so you can be protected from being misdirected.
Janet Cassidy
janetcassidy.com
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