Devotional/Discussion thought of the Day….

If God’s Love has chosen you out and called you to follow him, you have a duty to respond to him… and it is also your duty, an equally serious duty, to lead and to contribute to the holiness and good progress of other men, your brothers.  (1)

As I am a bit late writing my devotional blog today, I have to think of all the political hype that is dominating everywhere I look.  Driving down the streets, the television, the radio, Facebook and Twitter.  It is as if many believe our very fate as a nation, or as a state, depends on this election.  Not just the presidency, but even ballot measures at state and local level.  In one ballot initiative here in California – the amount of money being spent could underwrite 6 private/parochial schools for 50 years! (Nearly 120 million!)

The word for church is from the root word for being called out, being selected or chosen or elected to fulfill a role – that role of being the family of God.  It is our primary vocation in life, this relationship we have with God, this relationship He has, not just with an individual, but with His family – what we call the church.

I would say, knowing that many would disagree. that it is the “election” that truely matters, and I would go so far as to say, it is the ONLY election that matters.  For you can win or lose another election, and it will not have the impact of responding to this election, or denying it.

St. Josemarie Escriva points out something obvious here, that being elected changes things.  He uses the word “duty”, some may refer to it as an Obligation.  I tend to think it is simpler than that.  If you are elected to office, your role, your responsibility changes in life.  You are not as free to do certain things, you may have to even have limits on your personal freedom.  The same is true in our lives.  As we have become children of God, our life dramatically transforms, we change priorities, and yes, in a way, we lose some of our personal freedom.  We have a new relationship, a new role in life, we are the children of God.  As such, in that transformation, we realize the heart of our Father, we realize His love and mercy, we realize His peace.  And we realize that we respond to that love, and being to see the need to respond to it by bringing those God also calls to be part of His family.

There is such a difference, that we become driven to see people come to know our Father, our Lord, the One who called, chose, selected, elected us to be His.  And so we begin our work to see others begin to comprehend that they two have been elected to be transformed into being a son or daughter of the Father.

And they will, eventually, even as we do,  realize this is the only election that matters…

(1)Escriva, Josemaria (2011-01-31). The Forge (Kindle Locations 1422-1424). Scepter Publishers. Kindle Edition.(10