A Moment From De Sales

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What does Jesus want most from us?

If we ask Jesus this question, He would readily answer:  I want to be enough for you!  What then  is Jesus asking of us with this response?  As a compassionate, caring Son, Jesus simply wants each of us to understand the extent of His Father’s love for His creation.  Then He hopes we grasp what His father sacrificed in allowing His death to reseal that love and save us.  God did this without asking any cost from us – except to be grateful.  This is why Jesus easily responds: I want to be enough for you.  He gave all He had that we might live forever.

Have we ever imagined the anguish and pain this choice grieved our God?  It has to fill us with tremendous gratefulness and a profound love for Jesus.  Jesus is our sincere friend who stands by us and never counts the cost.  He is a faithful friend who knows our highs and lows offering support in all situations.  When believers accept Jesus for all these reasons, God is delighted and overjoyed because God sees that we know why Jesus is enough. And Jesus does too.

Later in His preaching, Jesus offers examples of what the passion our desire for Him might look like.  Jesus speaks of the merchant who finds the pearl of great price and the traveler who stumbles upon a buried treasure.

The merchant seeking beautiful pearls finds a pearl of great price and became so enamored, he sold all that he had and bought the pearl.  The traveler stumbles upon a hidden treasure in a field.  He quickly buries it and he too, sells all that he had and bought the field. Jesus points out how each wants what they found so strongly that they give up everything they have to possess their good fortune.  Jesus looks for the same kind of excited and enthusiastic eagerness from His followers.  He simply wants to be “our enough” where we easily give up everything to possess Him – to be enough.

Let’s not forget, Jesus needs nothing.   However, Jesus knows why we are here. It is to share His Father’s own goodness too.  Therefore, when His Son, Jesus, is enough for us, we are invited to help Jesus with sharing His good news with others. 

As St. Francis de Sales explains: “God has placed you in this world not because he needs you in any way… but only to exercise his goodness in you by giving you his grace and glory….”

Isn’t this reason enough to “sell” whatever holds us back, and invite Jesus to be enough? It’s a wonderful offer Jesus proposes.  While making our lives full, we help others do the same. 

In this way--Jesus is enough for us and everyone else too!

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