By Melanie
Rigney
As God
is faithful, our word to you is not “yes” and “no.” For the Son of God, Jesus
Christ, who was proclaimed to you by us, Silvanus and Timothy and me, was not
“yes” and “no,” but “yes” has been in him. For however many are the promises of
God, their Yes is in him; therefore, the Amen from us also goes through him to God
for glory. (2 Corinthians 1:18-20)
Lord,
let your face shine on me. (Psalm 119:135a)
“You
are the salt of the earth. But if salt loses its taste, with what can it be
seasoned?” (Matthew
5:13)
Piety
Lord, let me never be casual in my YES to You.
Study
Promises,
promises. Paul made promises, promises to visit people and churches. But he was
a busy man. Sometimes his casual promises couldn’t be fulfilled. Maybe he even
knew as he was making the promises that there’d be no way they’d be kept; maybe
it was just easier to say yes, knowing the ultimate result would be no.
We do the
same thing. We agree to help out at the food pantry, visit a sick friend,
create a ministry poster, or emcee a parish event. And then, later, well, we
look at our calendars and think about our other obligations. We back out. We
make up excuses, or maybe we’re even honest enough to simply say, I overbooked.
All understandable, of course. Except that because we said a yes that ended up
being a no, the shelves don’t get restocked as quickly at the food pantry, the
friend is lonely, the poster doesn’t get done, and someone whose gift is not
public speaking takes over the emcee duties. Not only are we diminished when
yes really means no, but we contribute to the diminishment of others.
With God, on
the other hand, yes means yes. All the time. He loves us. He desires only the
best for us. He will be present whenever we like for adoration, contrition,
thanksgiving and supplication. God never reneges on His yes to us. Can we start
by living up to the yeses we give to Him?
Action
Start with
something simple. Say yes to God on one small thing today. Then do it, lovingly
and unstintingly.
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