What Matters Most

But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not look at his appearance or at the height of his stature, because I have rejected him; for God sees not as man sees, for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.” 1 Samuel 16:7 | New American Standard Bible (NASB)

Apparently, Antoine de Saint-Exupéry has read 1 Samuel before he wrote The Little Prince. :)

Meditation for Today's Gospel (Mark 3:13-19):

What is God's call on your life? When Jesus embarked on his mission he chose twelve men for the task of preaching the kingdom of God and healing the sick in the power of that kingdom. In the choice of the twelve, we see a characteristic feature of God's work: Jesus chose very ordinary people. They were non-professionals, who had no wealth or position. They were chosen from the common people who did ordinary things, had no special education, and no social advantages. Jesus wanted ordinary people who could take an assignment and do it extraordinarily well. He chose these men, not for what they were, but for what they would be capable of becoming under his direction and power.

When the Lord calls us to serve, we must not shrug back because we think that we have little or nothing to offer. The Lord takes what ordinary people, like us, can offer and uses it for greatness in his kingdom. Do you make your life an offering to the Lord and allow him to use you as he sees fit?

"Lord Jesus, fill me with gratitude and generosity for all you have done for me. Take my life and all that I have as an offering of love for you, who are my All."

(c) 2014 Don Schwager

According to a beautiful anecdote shared by Fr. Abel, Jesus decided to walk along the shore to release His frustrations about finding the right disciples. When He saw Peter and Andrew and James and John, He knew He has found what He's looking for. The fishermen eventually became fishers of men because of one valuable trait that they have in common: the heart (read: passion). As they were casting their nets, Jesus saw their hearts being put into what they were doing. They were really into it. And THAT'S WHAT REALLY MATTERS.

Working for the Lord requires efficiency and excellence. Knowing that there's so much work to do, we must do things right the first time. And to do things right is to do things with love. ♥

Do you really want to know what it takes to be a disciple? It's as simple as this five-letter word:
H-E-A-R-T (Proverbs 4:23)!

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These Little Wonders

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