Why settle for less? This is the main point of the Gospel today. Jesus had already done a lot of miracles and had spoken great words of wisdom to the people. For Him, it should be enough for them to realize who He really is. At least, regard Him as no ordinary man and worthy of great consideration. However, they wanted more. They asked a sign from Him. Something more spectacular. Something up to their standard or what constitutes a work of God. Jesus got very angry. He felt that what He had done and said should be sufficient for them to believe. He decided not to give them signs. Then He proceeded to site what the Ninevites did. How they heeded the plea of Jonah for repentance. He also cited how the queen of the south travelled from a far away place just to seek the wisdom of Solomon. If the Ninevites heard Jonah, who was a prophet, and the queen of the south exerted effort to hear the wisdom of Solomon who is a king, why would the people now not hear, recognize, and accept Jesus, who is the Son of God? He is greater than Jonah or the queen of the south. Much much greater in fact!
Maybe we can say that it was really hard to make that claim and ascent to faith. The fact that the Jews believed in one God, how can they accommodate another God, much less one who is claqiming to be the Son of God? Ang hirap talaga ng kalagayan ng mga Hudyo. And I could say that if I were there, I would also find it hard to immediately make that act of faith. I admit, the thought of another God is too much for an ordinary believer.
But there comes the inspiration of God in His Spirit. Peter was able to profess Jesus as the Messiah because it was revealed to Him by the Father. We can also profess the Lordship of Jesus only in the Spirit. If we are open to the Truth, if we are willing to travel the Way, and if we are lovers of Life, we can make that leap of faith. Our generation can be considered more lucky than the Jews. Compared to the Jews, we now know the whole story of Jesus. We have put together the whole plan of salvation by God both in Scriptures and Tradition. We have seen the fulfillment of the New Testament of the promises of the Old Testament. We knew of the resurrection of Jesus from the dead. We knew the birth of Christianity. We received the testimony of the apostles and the early Christians. We have so many reasons to believe in Jesus as the Son of God. We have so many reasons to believe that we have the right and true faith. Why settle for less? Why hear more the word of others? Why practice the ways of the world more than the ways of God? Why be more inspired or commit to views and principles of personalities who are less compared to the Lord? The Lord Jesus is greater than anyone, anything, or any event.
When we ignore the the Lord Jesus in favor of others, we are settling for less. When we live principles and ways that are contrary to the ways and teachings of the Lord Jesus, we are settling for less. When we continue to be ignorant of the Lord Jesus and be more aware of others, we are settling for less. When we continue to live and regard the things of the world more than we regard the Lord Jesus, we are settling for less. Settle for Jesus. Settle for God.
Maybe we can say that it was really hard to make that claim and ascent to faith. The fact that the Jews believed in one God, how can they accommodate another God, much less one who is claqiming to be the Son of God? Ang hirap talaga ng kalagayan ng mga Hudyo. And I could say that if I were there, I would also find it hard to immediately make that act of faith. I admit, the thought of another God is too much for an ordinary believer.
But there comes the inspiration of God in His Spirit. Peter was able to profess Jesus as the Messiah because it was revealed to Him by the Father. We can also profess the Lordship of Jesus only in the Spirit. If we are open to the Truth, if we are willing to travel the Way, and if we are lovers of Life, we can make that leap of faith. Our generation can be considered more lucky than the Jews. Compared to the Jews, we now know the whole story of Jesus. We have put together the whole plan of salvation by God both in Scriptures and Tradition. We have seen the fulfillment of the New Testament of the promises of the Old Testament. We knew of the resurrection of Jesus from the dead. We knew the birth of Christianity. We received the testimony of the apostles and the early Christians. We have so many reasons to believe in Jesus as the Son of God. We have so many reasons to believe that we have the right and true faith. Why settle for less? Why hear more the word of others? Why practice the ways of the world more than the ways of God? Why be more inspired or commit to views and principles of personalities who are less compared to the Lord? The Lord Jesus is greater than anyone, anything, or any event.
When we ignore the the Lord Jesus in favor of others, we are settling for less. When we live principles and ways that are contrary to the ways and teachings of the Lord Jesus, we are settling for less. When we continue to be ignorant of the Lord Jesus and be more aware of others, we are settling for less. When we continue to live and regard the things of the world more than we regard the Lord Jesus, we are settling for less. Settle for Jesus. Settle for God.
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