The Best Day

   As I look back over my life there have been many really good days.  Topping the list would be the day my wife and I were joined in marriage.  The birth of our daughters and the adoption of our sons.  The day I was baptized and my sins were first forgiven.  While there are many days that are what I consider great days the best day will be when I stand in the presence of my Lord.

  To achieve that day, however, I have many things I must make a part of my life.  First and foremost I must have the love of God and be ready to accept His will for me.  I must make each day one in which I try to understand God’s purpose for me and to respond to that purpose.

   Love must be my attitude toward all if I am to stand before Jesus and hear those words that we all long to hear, “Come, O blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world;”  (Matt 25: 34).  That love must encompass everyone, even those who are difficult to love.  If I can learn from St. Teresa of Calcutta to see Jesus in every face perhaps I can also learn to love each of them as sons and daughters of God as she did.

   Faithfulness must be the hallmark of my life.  I can’t be lukewarm or apathetic in my faith.  It must be a strong and confident faith; the driving force of my life.  The kind of faithfulness I need can only come from the Holy Spirit living within me.  So I must open my heart, my soul and my life and give free reign to the Spirit.  If I can do this He will guide me and strengthen my faith.

   I must have confidence in my faith.  I can’t pick and choose what I will accept or reject in God’s word.  I can’t bend with the wind and change my faith when it may be difficult.  Even when I don’t fully understand I must accept that God’s word is infallible and is the sustenance of my faith.  I must trust in His word at all times.

   I must have humility in all things.  I must understand that without God I can’t succeed and with Him all things are possible.  If I can do these things I know that my best day is yet to come; that day when the angels rejoice and welcome me into the kingdom of God.

“What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man conceived, what God has prepared for those who love him.” 1 Cor 2: 9-10)