Listening to God is living for God
THE WORD IN LENT 2026 – WEDNESDAY SECOND WEEK
March 04 - Jeremiah 18:18-20; Matthew 20: 17-28
Listening to God is living for God, and living for God is living
for the other – we have been thinking in these lines the past days of the week.
But there remain a lot many things that we need to clear our minds on, with
this choice we decide to make. One of the fundamental questions is – what would
be the effect of such a choice, namely the choice to live for God!
What could it be? A fulfilled life? Accolades and olive leaves
that crown our heads? Thrones beside the king as John and James dreamt of
having, or was it their mother? Successes, achievements, accomplishments and
life-stories rewritten? All these are fairy tales considering the fact that the
Word invites us to reflect on.
The fact is bitter – but a fact all the same. When I chose to live
for God, I shall be surrounded by a swarm of enemies who are busy digging a pit
for my ruin. We see that in Jeremiah’s experience… he cries out to God against
the enemies who were concocting his destruction. Jesus announces his death, the
cruel death he would be soon consigned to.
The Lord who calls us is not intending to deceive us, never does
God deceive! God is letting us know exactly what we are running towards, in
choosing God. But still it depends on us to choose to live for God, because we
listen to God and we know exactly what can give true sense to our lives, what
our lives can offer ourselves and those around us. Jeremiah knew it, and that
is why he held on to that choice. Jesus knew it and that is why we are all
saved – saved by that choice, by that choice of the Cross.
The world, the temptations, the attractions, the justifications,
the compromises, the false promises, the apparent success stories, the shining
limelight … all these vie with each other to take us away from listening to God
and living for God. It is crucial for us to understand which of these are our
enemies, the pit-digging enemies plotting our ruin.
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