Grateful

 “For we brought nothing into the world, just as we shall not be able to take anything out of it. If we have food and clothing, we shall be content with that. Those who want to be rich are falling into temptation and into a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires, which plunge them into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is the root of all evils, and some people in their desire for it have strayed from the faith and have pierced themselves with many pains.” 1 Timothy 6:7-10

How appropriate is this letter of St. Paul to his younger coworker Timothy in this day and age. Indeed when we were born, we did not have a stitch of clothing on us. All we had was our breath to cry until our faces turned crimson! And when we die, no matter what we believe in, we will take nothing with us but what the grace of God allows us to bring. If we are blessed and have walked with Him, and made Him our friend, we will see Him face to face just as Abraham did. 

But if we do not walk with God, we may see something else when we die. In 2022, Dr. Paul Haduck of St. Joseph Mercy Health System, shared in a video about a young man who had been stabbed in the heart during a drug deal gone bad. When he was brought to the hospital, his chest was wide open and his surgeon, Dr. Forester, who was a Christian, fought heroically to save him. Dr. Forester said he wouldn’t let him go without a fight, he couldn't give up because his patient had not yet accepted the Gospel. The young man remained unconscious after multiple rounds of resuscitation even after they managed to bring back a faint pulse.

Then a miracle happened. After many hours, the patient opened his eyes and started to cry. “I met the devil," he said. “I saw you working on me-I was dead." He then recounted with horror being pulled straight into hell and staring into the eyes of the devil. He began to pray desperately for the first time in his life. “I promised God I would change my life. Then,” he said, “a force, like an angel lifted me out of hell and back into my body!” 

Dr. Haduck shared, “I'll never forget the look in his eyes when he woke up. The fear was real. Nobody could make up something like that. The last I heard, he had given his life to God and completely turned his life around. I believe with all my heart that he truly met the devil."

One of the best antidotes to not falling into the many traps in this world, is to take time each day to be intentionally grateful to God, to be content with what we have, and not feel the need to grasp for more, more, more. Jesus’ upside-down kingdom where it is more blessed to give than to receive (Acts 20:35), to be poor in spirit rather than to be rich in material things (Matthew 5:3), where the weak are strong (2 Corinthians 12:10), and the last are first (Matthew 2016), show us we have much to learn about the abundant life Jesus came to give us! 

There are a few daily exercises more effective than counting our blessings daily that can transform us deeply, that enables us to be more aware that as author and theologian Deitrich Bonhoeffer writes, “In ordinary life, we hardly realize that we receive a great deal more than we give, and that it is only with gratitude that life becomes rich.” Yes! Truly rich and abundant! 🎶🎶🎶