Fridays with Jesus

Episode 30

An hour before the renewal of marriage commenced, the son went to his father to talk to him regarding the secret ingredient that preserved his dad's marriage for 60 years. The son said, "Dad, what kept you to continue your marriage this long knowing that in the course of your marriage mom had been ill-tempered, oversensitive, and unfaithful to you?" "My son," the father replied, "those things were tough for me. But I focused on the efforts I have made that I cannot just let your mom go. I gave my sweat and blood just to marry the woman of my dreams. Your mom also made a share of sacrifice in bearing you and your siblings. That's why I did the best that I could to be the best husband that she would always love to spend her life with."

Sacrifice is an undervalued term in our contemporary setup. Usually, we choose what is easy, convenient, and instant. We love to copy and paste than go for in-depth research. We love jaywalking instead of treading the far overpass. We love easy money than a hard-earned one. Then we love divorce when we realize that marriage becomes demanding. Surprisingly, those who made acts of sacrifice are often ridiculed for enduring unnecessary pains.

In today's gospel, there are probably two challenges that Jesus wanted to ask us in saying, "If you want to follow me, deny yourself. Take up your cross and follow me." The first challenge is "Do we desire true happiness?" because oftentimes we choose fleeting happiness over the lasting one and worse, we don't know what kind of happiness stays forever. The second challenge is "Do we pursue true happiness in the best way possible?" Many times we are caught up with the illusion that heaven is for free but Jesus made it clear that we cannot have a new life with Him if we don't crucify our old self. May every one of us persevere in carrying our crosses with the hope that one day we will meet God face to face forever. Amen.

TGIFY-Reflection #30
(Thank God It's Fri Yey!)
February 21, 2020