Mt 7,21-29
‘It is not anyone who says to me, “Lord, Lord,” who will enter the kingdom of Heaven, but the person who does the will of my Father in heaven. When the day comes many will say to me, “Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, drive out demons in your name, work many miracles in your name?” Then I shall tell them to their faces: I have never known you; away from me, all evil doers! ‘Therefore, everyone who listens to these words of mine and acts on them will be like a sensible man who built his house on rock. Rain came down, floods rose, gales blew and hurled themselves against that house, and it did not fall: it was founded on rock. But everyone who listens to these words of mine and does not act on them will be like a stupid man who built his house on sand. Rain came down, floods rose, gales blew and struck that house, and it fell; and what a fall it had! ‘Jesus had now finished what he wanted to say, and his teaching made a deep impression on the people because he taught them with authority, unlike their own scribes.
The Lord never leaves us in doubt as to what He wants from us; today He makes us realize that it is not enough to invoke His name alone, or even to do miracles in His name! There may be many people who call on the name of Jesus and also have an emotional relationship with Jesus, but do not follow his instructions! ” If you love me you will keep my commandments.” (Jn 14,15), The Lord calls us! Faith and action, confession of faith in Jesus and the corresponding works – they belong together! Without the decision to keep God’s commandments, God’s life of grace cannot develop fruitfully in us, and we miss the path!
However, one must also be careful not to draw the conclusion that only the works count and the confession of God is not important! This would be a grave error, for our works are meant to glorify God and make his name known!
When we hear these admonishing words of Jesus, then we recognize the great task of taking up the word of the Lord as deeply as possible in us, so that our will is completely under the guidance of the Holy Spirit! In doing so, we must become aware of the weakness of our will, which is a consequence of original sin. This is why our will needs ascetic training, so that the will serves us better in the grace of God and does not constantly succumb to our weakness! Saint Paul reminds us that a different law lives in his flesh than in his reason, and only the Lord can save him from this divided state (cf. Rom 7,23-25)!
The teaching of the so called “two freedoms” is helpful in resisting the weakness of the will and not following bad inclinations. For it does not always have to be a bad intention that we do not put into practice what we have set out to do.
The doctrine of the two freedoms says that we make the right decision with the first freedom. An example: We avoid certain Internet sites because they could morally endanger us! Because we know this, we block these Internet pages so as not to be tempted! This blocking of the corresponding pages is the activation of the second freedom, which secures our first basic decision!
This teaching is not without importance for our spiritual path, because we should consciously take appropriate measures in view of our weaknesses, so that these do not prevail but are fought! It is necessary to protect the “inner castle of our soul”, to preserve the life of grace in us and to bring it to unfold!
The wise man listens to the voice of the Lord and builds his whole trust in God! He searches day after day to recognize and fulfill the will of God! If he misses his holy will, he asks for forgiveness and immediately returns to unity with God and learns from his mistakes!
After defeats in his spiritual endeavours he does not remain on the ground and fall in despair but is raised up again by God to continue on his way! This trust tells him that God loves him infinitely and is always ready to help him in his weakness and to support his efforts for good! Therefore he does not build on his own strength, but becomes strong in the Lord!
This trust in God’s goodness helps him when storms arise in his life and he is fought on all sides! He has built the house of his life on God! There it stands for sure!