Bringing Us The Sword

St. Henry

Do not think that I have come to bring peace upon the earth. I have come to bring not peace but the sword. Matthew 10:34

When I first read this, I must admit, I was a little bit confused. Even the next couple of sentences were confusing because He tells us that we will be set against members of our family. But as I continued reading the passage, I understood. Because He wants us to love Him more than our earthly treasures, including members of our family.

While I was away with my family this week at Disney, I felt very far away from God. I looked at my Bible and devotions right before we left and decided to leave them because I probably wouldn't have time for that. "Time for that?" No time for God? I guess I figured we would be so busy running around, I wouldn't have time for my prayers. Looking back, I feel so awful about that. I could feel it though. I could feel the distance that I created. I still thought about Him a lot, but it didn't feel the same. It didn't feel the same as spending time in Scripture each morning and thinking about my behavior according to Him. And it was harder to act like I should have and I could feel the secular perspective of the world seeping into my mind.

I put myself and my family ahead of God last week. And while it wasn't a terrible trip (we had a lot of fun together as a family and feel truly blessed to have been able to do this), I feel guilty about being selfish. This one attribute can really get in the way of having that undying faith in God that makes us holy. And I had a week of selfishness. But it feels good to be back at home, back in my routine.

So back to Scripture here. Love God more than my own parents? Love God more than my own brothers? Love God more than my husband? Love God more than my own children? Yes. Because our life on earth isn't about us. It's not about what we want and living a life we think we should live. It's about God. He put us here for a reason and we are to live our lives the way He envisioned for us.

This passage reminds me of the quote I have on my blog from Mother Angelica:

We don’t like to speak the truth about evil because we’re going to hurt somebody. Let me tell you, you are going to hurt somebody, but that Somebody is God. If you would rather hurt God than your neighbor, there is something wrong with your spirituality. It’s your obligation to speak the truth and everyone can either take it or leave it. But truth must be in us. We live in such poverty of the truth today.

I just love that quote. It puts all of this in perspective. God comes first. Period.

Daily Readings:
Exodus 1:8-14, 22 Psalm 124:1-8 Matthew 10:34-11:1