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HIS Servant
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 JESUS
CHRIST, OUR WEALTH
- By Bro. Pete
Lapid
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- In Mark
10:17-22, “…a man ran up to Jesus and asked, ‘Good teacher,
what must I do to inherit eternal life?’ And Jesus’ reply was,
‘You know the commandments: You shall not kill; you shall not
commit adultery; you shall not steal; you shall not bear false
witness; you shall not defraud; honor your father and your
mother.’ And he replied to Him, ‘Teacher, all of these I have
observed from my youth.’ Jesus looked at him, loved him and
said to him, ‘You are lacking in one thing. Go, sell what
you have, and give to the poor and you will have treasure in
heaven; then come follow
Me.’
At that statement, his face fell, and he went away sad, for he
had many possessions.”
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- Brothers
and Sisters in Christ, this challenge of Jesus is not only
addressed to that rich man, but to all of us who believe in
Jesus and want to follow Him. Why? Because many of us rely so
much on our material wealth and possessions, and tend to get
some form of security from them. But the truth is that what
these things give us is nothing more than a false sense of
security.
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Think for a moment with me: what would happen to us if we
experience what Job has experienced? All his material
possessions were taken away. Even his children were taken
away. Only his life was spared. Yet, in the midst of all his
painful losses and sufferings, he was still able to praise God
and utter from his lips the famous words, “God gave, God
has taken away. Blessed be His name” (Job
1:21). What
about us, Brothers and Sisters in Christ?
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Job knew where his true treasure lies, where his real
security is. It is in God. And he knew this in his heart all
along. That is why his losses never broke him. He did not
waver in his faith. He did not disappoint God Himself. He
found his true treasure in God. Unlike the rich man in the
above Gospel, and perhaps, unlike many of us, Job knew where
he stood with God. Because of this, he was restored back. The
Bible says that “the Lord made him prosperous again and
gave him back twice as much as he had before” (Job 42:10).
Could you imagine that?
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The apostles would later ask Jesus, “What about us, Lord?
We have left everything for You, our houses, our
families, our possessions?” (Matthew 19:27) And Jesus’
answer to them was, “Amen, I say to you, there is no one
who has given up houses, brothers, sisters, mother, father,
children or lands for My sake and for the sake of the Gospel
who will not receive a hundred times more now in this present
age and eternal life in the age to come ” (Matthew 19:29).
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What is Jesus telling the apostles and us? He is simply
telling us that in Him, we have everything. In Jesus, we will
lack nothing. In Jesus, we will inherit eternal life.
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I know two excellent examples of people who have left
everything to follow Jesus. They are our very own Parish
priests, Fr. S. Binzler and Fr. K.J. Veeger. Both left their
houses, their parents, and their families in order to follow
Jesus. They even left their own countries (right after being
ordained as priest and at their young age) and set out to a
foreign land to announce and bring Jesus to people whom they
never knew. How many of us are inspired by them and by the
many more priests whom we know have done the same thing?
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Let us pray that we too, like Job, will find in our Lord and
Savior Jesus Christ our real treasure and wealth. And having
found Him, that we, like our Parish priests, Fr. Binzler and
Fr. Veeger, will find the courage to leave behind our
attachments to all our material goods and possessions, in
order for us to be able to boldly take up the challenge of
Jesus to go and follow Him.
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God bless you all.
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TELL US
LIKE IT IS!
- Has
something wonderful and unique happened in your life lately? Did
God answer your prayer in a very unexpected way? Did you, like
Isaiah, meet God’s whisper?
- Have
you felt His powerful hand working in your life recently?
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Everyday, people are experiencing God’s mighty Word in their
lives and it is a pity that very few know about it. Do you have
a story to tell? Some Good News to share?
- E-mail
us (genesis@catholic.org)
or fax us (021-6627384), and tell us about it. That’s right! You
don’t have to be a great writer to do this. We can help you
write it – just tell us like it is!
- Don’t
forget to write the subject: “Let Me Tell You A Story”
For comments, suggestions
or ideas:
Write us: Jl. Bacang No. 20
Kebayoran Baru, Jakarta Selatan, Indonesia
Call us: (6221) 720-3824
Fax us: (6221) 662-7384
Genesis
Catholic Community
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part of this website may be copied, reproduced or modified without
the permission from the webmaster.
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This site has been awarded
IN THIS ISSUE:
HIS Servant
by Bro. Pete Lapid
Inspirations
By Fr. Harold Toledano,
OAD
Surabaya Corner
By Ramon Martillano
Community Life ~ Here's
the Latest
By Tintin Magbitang
ECLS Sharing
By the ECLS
Participants
ECLS Sharing
By Joji Escuban
The G Kidspace*
By Isabel Perucho
By Tintin Magbitang
Our Faith
By Fr. KJ Veeger, MSC
Place of Refuge
By Philip Yuson
God Answers Prayers
By Beth Manibog
Straight from the Heart
By Carolle Bautista
On Focus
By Sansu Garin
Saint for the Month
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Meet the Staff
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