Unearned Luck

In the presence of the God in whom he believed, who gives life to the dead and calls into existence the things that do not exist. -Romans 4:17 If you wish to read this with the footnotes in place, please click:  Is God's Being Love?        Love is understood to be many things: an emotion, a feeling, an action. There are many kinds of love: philio , caritas , and Minne . Yet, in the Bible, love is action. “Rebekah loved Jacob,” and so helped Jacob obtain the birthright from the elderly Isaac. Mary Magdalene loved Jesus, and so she washed his feet and perfumed his head. Jesus Christ loves all mankind, and so He died on the cross to release mankind from its slavery to sin and death. St. John the Evangelist, however, states simply, “God is love.” Since God is simply subsistent being, St. John is stating that being is love, since the source of all being is love. To begin, being and subsistent being need defining. Being is tha...

Photo by Zhipeng Ya on Unsplash Do not wonder at the works of a sinner, but trust in the Lord and keep at your toil; for it is easy in the sight of the Lord to enrich a poor man quickly and suddenly. Sirach 11:21 While I have worked very hard to achieve success at various times in my life, I have never worked for success in my spiritual life. It's been my idea, that if I pray for it, then God should grant it. This has seemed only natural. If I want to be healthy and stay in shape, then I have to eat right and exercise. Obviously, God is not going to just make that happen for me. Since I can't see the spiritual side of my life, though I haven't done much more than pray to God to make good things happen. This strategy has proved very frustrating. God has not miraculously removed my habitual sins nor has he miraculously caused me to trust entirely in His Divine Providence. He has been surprisingly obtuse. Or so it has seemed. Rather, God has been teaching me,...

The names of those involved have been changed to protect the discerning.  The following is based on an actual case. It was the Friday before St. Patrick's Day and the work day was about over.  I had been asking co-workers who were clearly not Irish what they're plans were for celebrating St. Patrick's Day.  I am a bit ornery.  A woman who works in the front office and dresses according to "The Standards" of the Apostolic Pentecostal church was passing by my fork truck, so I stopped and asked her what her plans were for the next day. Joan:  "I've never celebrated St. Patricks's Day.  I'm Irish, though, so you would think that I would have." Me:  "You're Irish?" Joan:  "Yes, I am." Me:  "Then you're going to be Catholic before you die." J:  "No, I don't think so."  She chuckled. M:  "Sure you will.  With all of those Irish ancestors praying for you, you certainly will be....