“It’s Your Choice”
Father Peter Fitzgibbons
May 11 – 12, 2019
Scripture: John 20: 27-30
27) My sheep hear my voice; I know them, and they follow me. 28) I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish. No one can take them out of my hand. 29) My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one can take them out of the Father’s hand. 30) *The Father and I are one.”
Who has more power than God? You know the answer….You do! You are the only one who can say “No” to Him. Even Satan cannot make that decision for you. Nobody but you can leave God’s protective embrace. Adam & Eve chose to leave Him. We have the same free will to choose.
There are two kinds of Will: Directive and Permissive. Directive Will refers to the laws of physics. For example, an object that is in motion will not change its velocity unless a force acts upon it. Permissive Will refers to that which God allows to happen. For example, God allows sinful behavior, even though He does not desire it.
Jesus said we would not be comfortable following Him. Instead, He said “If anyone wishes to come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me” (Luke 9:23–24). This teaching is hard, because we want what we want when we want it. It’s even more difficult because of our refusal to love. God is love, but His love is not forced…it cannot and will not force itself on anyone.
The disciples left Christ alone on several occasions…during His Passion being one. Another occasion was after He had fed the 5,000 with five loaves and two fish. When the people wanted to hear more, Christ told them that He is the Bread of Life and that they must eat His flesh and drink His blood to have eternal life. This shocked some of the disciples and they chose to leave Him. Jesus asked those who remained if they also wanted to leave, and Peter replied, “Lord, to whom should we go?” (John 6: 54-57).
So many of my family and college classmates have left the church. They either didn’t like what the priest said or what he did. They say that they are more comfortable where they are. But, you know what? It’s not about your comfort. More importantly, none of the other faiths have the truth…only the Catholic Church has that.
How will you apply this message to your life? Will you choose Christ or will you leave Him”