Everything Indeed Is For You

Sometimes we wonder what place our mistakes and failings, illnesses, loss of jobs, deaths, disappointments in our own behavior and that of those whom we love, even to having our e-mail hacked, have in our lives. St. Paul wrote to the Church in Corinth which had its share of divisions and problems that "Everything indeed is for you, so that the grace bestowed in abundance on more and more people may cause the thanksgiving to overflow for the glory of God. (2 Cor 4:15). It takes some hefty reflecting to digest this and to move from acceptance to thanksgiving. Yes, even in the "bad" things, grace is at work, for all comes from a God whose love has not measure and who cannot will evil or harm for us. Our human condition subjects us to failures, illness, and hosts of shortcomings, which lead us to the conclusion that WE are not God, that We cannot resolve nor understand everything. Our own emptiness and inadequacies lead us to turn to a "power" outside of ourselves...to God and God's mercy. When it seems we "can't go on like this", we humbly come to rely on God to fill up what is missing in us. Paul goes on to say, "Therefore we are not discouraged; rather, although the outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed each day." (2 Cor 4:16). When we realize that our inner self's growth is the most important aspect of our being, then we can more willingly bear with the shorcomings and aches and pains that come with being human. And for this, gratitude and thanksgiving come more easilyto our hearts and lips.
Bro. Rene