God’s Words for the Pilgrimage #3 A road on a global scale littered with obstacles

A road strewn with obstacles

And yet the Christian’s path is not a uniform one, without difficulties. On his way, many obstacles will never cease to oppose his happiness and the ‘encounter with God’ which is ultimately the condition of it.

First, there is sin. Present in each of our lives, it is a total or partial rejection of God, and in this way it binds our freedom and weighs on the progress of the whole Church. This is why, in return, the duty of ‘conversion‘ is imposed on us, that is, the turning of the whole life towards the Lord, leading to a new journey forward.

There is also suffering, which is both a burden and a mystery. Suffering of the body, suffering of the heart, or suffering of the soul, it rises up one day or another before man. Then it may be useless revolt; it can also be the hour of « hope« ; hope, « that flame impossible to extinguish with the breath of death », as Péguy said…

But there is also prayer which, in the very midst of suffering, or in the misery of sin, cries out to God our need, our distress, our poverty, and calls for his help.

No Christian is a solitary Christian. On the contrary, he is in solidarity with all his fellow men and women even in his prayer, for it is with them, in the Church and with Christ, in the Spirit who prays in us, that we can only call God « Our Father » and offer ourselves to him in the rediscovered transparency of our souls at the source of this « Living Water gushing forth eternal life. »

 

A road on a global scale

 

This is why the path of Christians is also the path of men, which passes through recommitment to the search for justice and peace. Justice and peace are not personal privileges. There can be no true inner peace without active concern for the peace of nations, nor can there be true love for God or for one’s brothers and sisters without an effective will to justice on all levels: individual, social or international. The Church leads to the construction of the earthly city all those whom she gathers in search of the future city. It is then that his pilgrimage joins that of all humanity.

 

 

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Preceding

1. What is a Pilgrimage?
2. Encouraging eachother
3. Prayer at the beginning of our pilgrimage
4. Beginning of a Pilgrimage
5. God’s Words for the Pilgrimage #1 Twentieth Century Man and the Pilgrimage Process
6. God’s Words for the Pilgrimage #2 Words of God for life

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Additional reading

1. Facing our existence every day
2. Perplexity among the nations
3. Dealing with worries in our lives
4. Time for this and that
5. Obstacles to your goal
6. About Suffering
7. From pain to purpose
8. Fog, brass and light for the eyes
9. When a day of darkness and of gloominess shall come
10. A book of life and a man born more than two thousand years ago
11. Philippians 4:4–7 – Do Not Be Anxious
12. Straight roads can’t make you a good driver
13. In every difficulty, see opportunities
14. Experiences in life that ‘helped’ me grow
15. The Bible not as complicated as you think
16. Repentance and conversion are not milestones which we pass on the way of life and never see again
17. Do you want to take control of your life?
18. Beginnings and endings are significant
19. “I want to draw closer to God, but…”
20. For those who make other choices
21. Be like a tree planted by streams of water
22. Improving the one who loves Him
23. Today’s thought “Do not harm … until” (December 24)
24. Believe me! Everything is Possible
25. Let Jesus carry your heavy burdens
26. Extra memorising verses John 7:37 Coming to Christ to drink
27. Thought for today: Nothing to hard for God
28. If one wants to be baptised
29. Gods hope and our hope
30. Hope with a foundation

Bible texts at: The going wrong of man and God His decision

Continuation of: The going wrong of man and God His decision

Quotes from God’s Word. “29  Then God said, « Behold, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is on the surface of all the earth, and every tree which has fruit yielding seed; it shall be food for you; 30 and to every beast of the earth and to every bird of the sky and to every thing that moves on the earth which has life, [I have given] every green plant for food »; and it was so. 31  God saw all that He had made, and behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day.” (Ge 1:29-31 NAS95) “8  The LORD God planted a garden toward the east, in Eden; and there He placed the man whom He had formed. 9 Out of the ground the LORD God caused to grow every tree that is pleasing to the sight and good for food; the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.” (Ge 2:8-9 NAS95) “15 Then the LORD God took the man and put him into the garden of Eden to cultivate it and keep it.” “16  The LORD God commanded the man, saying, « From any tree of the garden you may eat freely; 17 but from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat from it you will surely die. »” (Ge 2:15-17 NAS95) “24 For this reason a man shall leave his father and his mother, and be joined to his wife; and they shall become one flesh. 25 And the man and his wife were both naked and were not ashamed.” (Ge 2:24-25 NAS95) “1  Now the serpent was more crafty than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said to the woman, « Indeed, has God said, ’You shall not eat from any tree of the garden’? » 2 The woman said to the serpent, « From the fruit of the trees of the garden we may eat; 3 but from the fruit of the tree which is in the middle of the garden, God has said, ’You shall not eat from it or touch it, or you will die.’ » 4 The serpent said to the woman, « You surely will not die! 5 « For God knows that in the day you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil. »” “6  When the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was desirable to make [one] wise, she took from its fruit and ate; and she gave also to her husband with her, and he ate. 7 Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loin coverings. 8 They heard the sound of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God among the trees of the garden.” “9  Then the LORD God called to the man, and said to him, « Where are you? » 10 He said, « I heard the sound of You in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid myself. »” “11  And He said, « Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree of which I commanded you not to eat? » 12 The man said, « The woman whom You gave [to be] with me, she gave me from the tree, and I ate. » 13 Then the LORD God said to the woman, « What is this you have done? » And the woman said, « The serpent deceived me, and I ate. »” “14  The LORD God said to the serpent, « Because you have done this, Cursed are you more than all cattle, And more than every beast of the field; On your belly you will go, And dust you will eat All the days of your life; 15 And I will put enmity Between you and the woman, And between your seed and her seed; He shall bruise you on the head, And you shall bruise him on the heel. »” “16  To the woman He said, « I will greatly multiply Your pain in childbirth, In pain you will bring forth children; Yet your desire will be for your husband, And he will rule over you. » 17 ¶ Then to Adam He said, « Because you have listened to the voice of your wife, and have eaten from the tree about which I commanded you, saying, ’You shall not eat from it’; Cursed is the ground because of you; In toil you will eat of it All the days of your life.” (Ge 3:1-17 NAS95) “20  Now the man called his wife’s name Eve, because she was the mother of all [the] living.” “21 ¶ The LORD God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife, and clothed them.” “22  Then the LORD God said, « Behold, the man has become like one of Us, knowing good and evil; and now, he might stretch out his hand, and take also from the tree of life, and eat, and live forever »— 23 therefore the LORD God sent him out from the garden of Eden, to cultivate the ground from which he was taken. 24 So He drove the man out; and at the east of the garden of Eden He stationed the cherubim and the flaming sword which turned every direction to guard the way to the tree of life.” (Ge 3:20-24 NAS95)