“You must watch over your life and live it with great fidelity. I will take care of everything else” (Inner Word).
These words refer especially to the spiritual life and remind us of Jesus’ other words: “Seek first the Kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things shall be yours as well” (Mt 6:33).
We must always keep a watchful eye on our spiritual life, for we are easily tempted to neglect it, and this always has negative consequences. We may not notice it immediately, but in the long run our soul loses its vitality and temptations seduce us more easily because we are not sufficiently prepared.
This vigilance, together with our care to do what our Heavenly Father asks of us, is our contribution to the unfolding and fruitfulness of God’s guidance in our lives.
Like St Paul, let us use an example from the world of sport to understand this better: a footballer must lay the foundations through disciplined training so that the talent he has been given can develop. On the other hand, he can also waste that talent if he does not take control of his life.
Something similar happens with the grace that God in His infinite goodness gives us. If we steward it responsibly, the presence of the Lord can unfold like a river of life flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb to heal the nations (cf. Rev 22:1-2).
In other words, we become more and more a finely tuned instrument upon which the Father can make the song of His love resound.