"Humanity" God's Greatest Gift

A budding flower rises as its petals feel the sun’s rays; new life is coming - its already here; from whence did it come, a beauty to fill the earth.  

The seed; who planted it; who nurtured it; who reaped the harvest of this newborn seed?  The Holy Spirit is the enabler, but we did His Will each step of life’s journey.  Watch, if you can, from seedling to an explosion from metamorphosis, and see the beauty of change within the world that lives.  

To a newly ordained priest the question may arise how can I know if my ministry will reach the person(s) that is supposed to be open to hear my words or feel my touch?  A student dreams of one day teaching, but to whom will my studies fall upon and when?  Many more may ponder with candor their place in life and the results of effort put forth.  

Go back to the beginning when the Creator God ordained that humanity would grow, slow and with essence.  He planted the seed that would claim the earth and all that would be as his life would unfold.  Very few, if any, may plant, nurture, and harvest when doing the Will of God.  Yet, we may realize that each one who has erupted into maturity had another who nurtured and someone else that was the planter of their spiritual journey.

Unlike the farmer, priest or student, “God looked at everything He had made, and he found it very good.”  (Gen. 1: 31).  It isn’t in watching and waiting to view change within any living entity.  Rather it is doing our part that God has given to each, and continuing the maturity of that persons journey through our own gifts from the Holy Spirit. 

What is a gift, or more realistically how much do we appreciate a gift in the knowledge that it is freely given?  Does the farmer ever thank God for his ability to plant and nurture the seeds, then rejoice when it matures to full bloom?  Have any of us taken the time to give thanks to the Lord instead of asking why when things we think should have turned out differently?  

Was God lonely before He created man?  Did He need us to complete or add to His Kingdom where the Holy Trinity existed?  Of course the answer to these is no.  However, in His Divine Wisdom, God wanted mankind as an entity to share the wonderful life throughout eternity that would give Him Praise and find the reason for thankfulness in the many blessings and gifts that humanity could only find through the very meaning of Love; God’s Love!

Do we understand the love that only can be found in God?  Have we yet arrived at that juncture between Truth that is God and the finiteness that still holds on to the human heart?  Once the mind of man understands the true meaning of love that is God, only then will the finiteness blend within the infinite, who is God.  

In the beginning was God; three Persons of the Trinity.  Then God made Angels, to serve and worship Him.  Creation was made in an orderly fashion with Patriarchs, Prophets, and Great Leaders like Abraham, Issac, Jacob, and Moses.  The last of the Old Testament Prophets was John the Baptist announcing the King of Kings, Lord of Lords, and He who is Prophet, Priest, and King.  God did not create anything that was not good.  cf paragraph above Gen. 1: 31).

From all the aforementioned we have grown, like the seeds planted and in the morning the farmer looked and wondered where all this came from.  This is the field of dreams that God ordained would serve Him well.  

So, this greatest of gifts, humanity, with all its flaws, is the ultimate of His Creation who would sing His Praises, worship Him in eternity, and see Him as He really is.  We are this greatest of gifts that requires our humble acceptance of Love Personified in the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.  Isn’t it wonderful that a plan created in God, by God, and with God had each of us as the final product, perfect in essence and beautiful to behold because God willed it so.  This is Humanity, the gift of God. 

  Ralph B. Hathaway May 2018