Scangear application has stopped working. A problem caused the program to stop working correctly. Windows will close the program and notify you if a solution is available.
I received this message from my scanner recently. It caused me to reflect on our spiritual lives. What causes us to get off track occasionally? It's easy to get lost in the distractions of the world around us.
If you are a serious thinker you will be distracted by the dark pages of political unrest. I saw a video of the riots in the Ukraine recently. One soldier was beating a man who cowered on the ground. My prayer was for this to stop. Another soldier arrived andjoined in the beating up of the victim.
It is easier to pursue more pleasant diversions. Our world serves up sports, drama, comedy, romance and such an endless supply of fiction and nonfiction entertainment that our distraction is literally endless.
Into this picture the Lord of creation enters. Weekly, if we are fortunate by family circumstance or some other way the Lord has called to us and we have responded. If we rely on our own devices we may reply weakly to the call.
Sometimes I like to look at fundamental questions. How do we reconcile the human nature and the Divine nature within us? How do we live as physical beings and remain true to the promptings of the Spirit and our call to be prophets and heralds of the good news?
The best way to live as a follower of Christ is to stay in touch with the Lord. Daily contact through scripture and prayer helps. Visiting our churches every week or more frequently is advised. But we need to do more.
Let me give a comparison. Going to church Sunday is like inviting Jesus into your home as a guest. This visitation is more real if you receive the Eucharist and in a more tangible way bring Jesus into your home.
But then what happens? Some of us ignore our Sunday guest for most of the week. Sometimes we acknowledge His presence when we say Grace at mealtime, but some days we do not do even that. How would a guest feel?
Granted, if we run into difficulties during the week we quickly call out to our guest for help. Do we bother to say thanks after?
What more can we do, besides getting in touch with the Lord through prayer and scripture reading? St James tell us: "Religion that is pure and undefiled before God is this: to care for orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world" (James1:27).
"Be doers of the word, not hearers only" St James tells us (1:22). Doing good works will keep us on track as followers of Jesus. If good works do not go with faith, it is quite dead (2:17).
At best, being a Christian is being absorbed in good works and occasionally being interrupted by the world; at worst, being a Christian is being absorbed by the distractions of the world and occasionally being interrupted by Jesus.
