Philippians 3:13, 14

Philippians 3:13, 14
Brethren, I do not regard myself as having laid hold of it yet; but one thing I do:  forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.

Everything we do here determines if we achieve that goal, the prize of eternal life.  I don't understand being so concerned with how others are behaving and whether or not other people are achieving that goal.  I mean, I worry about my children, of course, but that comes with the responsibility of being a mother.  I will always worry about their souls and I hope to be able to help guide them in their choices so that they too can receive the gifts of God.  But I don't stress about other people's relationship with God.  And I don't understanding passing judgment on those who do not conduct themselves the way I would.  I am far from perfect, as a wife, mother, friend, neighbor, etc.  I believe that Jesus came here, teaching us to love, respect, and care for one another.  I don't remember Him telling us to condemn, judge, and abhor each other.

So as I go along each day I try to remember what the goal is.  And I try to remember to have empathy for everyone.  There are plenty of things going on in other people's lives that we just don't know about.  When someone doesn't respond to your communication, maybe they aren't trying to ignore you, maybe they have things they are dealing with in their own home that cause them to be distracted or just not in the mood to converse.  We don't have to bare our souls to everyone we meet, instead it would be nicer if others had a level of patience and understanding for that which they do not know.  We all face difficulties and we all are doing our best to reach that prized goal, or at least that's what I would like to believe, and until someone tells me outright that they have no desire to live eternally with our Father, I will just continue to give everyone the benefit of the doubt.

Thanks for reading!

Busy Mommy Blogger