A WORD FOR TODAY 7 SEPTEMBER 2022

*A WORD FOR TODAY*

*DO NOT GIVE UP, YOUR REWARD WILL COME IN THE END*

_“Blessed are you when men hate you, and when they exclude you and revile you, and cast out your name as evil, on account of the Son of man! Rejoice in that day, and leap for joy, for behold, your reward is great in heaven; for so their fathers did to the prophets."(Luke 6:22-23)_

_*The world is truly not our home, because we are pilgrims passing by and when our time is come we shall leave the scene and return back to our maker. With this in mind we must strive everyday to live well so that we shall be admitted into God's kingdom on the last day.*_

_St. Paul reminds us in the first reading of today that the world is passing away, therefore, we must be serious with our life and live as people waiting for the return of their master. We must not lose guard, but constantly make sincere efforts even in times of pain and agony to please the Lord and do His will irrespective of our vocations or status in life._

_*Every follower or disciple of Jesus must bear a cross and strive to enter through the narrow door, because that is the way that leads to life. If you truly love Jesus, you must be ready to walk in His ways, which sometimes comes with some kind of discomfort.*_

_Truly, the Christian life is a blessed life, but you must be ready to follow through until the end before you receive the crown of eternal life. Suffering and pain is part of it, but you must not give up because there will be a great reward in the end._

_*The beatitude as we have in the gospel reading is one that will encourage us to keep pushing in the right way until we reach our goal. People will hate us, exclude us and revile us, they will persecute us and call us evil on account of the Son of man, we must rejoice and be glad and keep moving forward. We shall be greatly rewarded in the end when we present the report of our stewardship.*_

_We are reminded in the message of the sermon on the plain according to Luke's gospel which very much corresponds to the account in Matthew's gospel, to strive to look beyond this life and prepare for the blessed life in God's kingdom. Do not focus on being rich here on earth and forget that there is heaven. Choose Christ above the things of this life, you may be hated by men, they will trouble you, but in the end you will get eternal joy. So make the right choice between the two, easy way-immediate pleasure, the narrow way-eternal joy. Sacrifice now for the greater good in the future, abandon the value of the world and choose Christ and you will have everything and even more in the end._

_*Good morning dearest one. Smile😊as you do your work and do have a beautiful day. May Jesus give you the grace to choose Him over the things of this life. Amen. And may the Almighty God bless you: the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen.*_

*Meditation:* 1 Corinthians 7:25-31/Psalm 45:11-17/Luke 6:20-26

*Watch-Word:* Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven.

*Give up the things of this life, choose Christ everyday and He will be with you and reward you in the end.*

(Wednesday of the twenty-third week in the ordinary time. Year II)

*© Rev. Fr. Augustine Eleke*