Knowing is one thing; but living with God?
Ezek 24: 15-23; Mt 19: 16-22.
I remember a scene from the movie, "I am Gabriel", where the messenger from God tells a person to make prayer mats for everyone in the town. And a day later, the person happily shows all the prayer mats made and the messenger replies calmly but sternly, "making them is one thing but what is more important is using them!" The readings today seem to give us a message similar to that.
Knowing what is right is one thing, but the more important thing is to live by it. Ezekiel is presented a sign, to make the people realise how thoughtless they were growing about God. They were fulfilling their daily duties and keeping the so called "law" or the religious duties. But whether they were really in touch with the Lord, is the true concern. The rich young man, knew the laws and lived the laws, but missed the point as to why he was doing all that: to make God the centre of his life.
With all the various things that we do we may know what is to be done at a given point of time: the rites and the rituals, the rules and the regulations, the laws and the demands therewith. It is completely another thing to realise why do all that we do! To make God the centre of our lives, the foundation and the meaning of our lives. That would mean 'selling everything', 'giving up' and 'loving everyone genuinely'; for in love is God revealed,