Hos 10:1-3, 7-8, 12 Ps 105:2-3, 4-5, 6-7 Matt 10:1-7

Weekly Guide for Daily Prayer The Daily Reflections

When I first read the Gospel, I was confused as to why Jesus told the disciples not to go to the pagans and Samaritans, but only to the lost sheep of the House of Israel.  Didn’t he want the faith to be spread far and wide, reaching as many as possible?  But thinking over it, I began to realize just how much God loves his children and wants them to know him.  Maybe more people would have been affected at that time had the Apostles visited a pagan territory or Samaritan town.  But Jesus told them to reach out to the lost sheep—he was unwilling to let his loved ones wander without someone coming to lead them back to God.

Sometimes, we get stuck in a rut and feel lost.  We lose touch of our faith, of our purpose.  It is so easy to get caught up in the world, and when we succeed, to build off of those material achievements instead of giving credit to God.  And yet when this happens to me, I still always seem to convince myself that because I am still doing the actions, my faith is still strong and I don’t need to make any life changes.  It’s so hard to admit imperfections, and even harder to have the courage to face and fix them.

But like the Israelites in Hosea, when our minds are wrapped up in our own lives, our hearts are false.  This pride only creates barriers and a lofty self-view.  It may take destruction—some sort of rude awakening—to bring back the respect that God deserves.  If you’ve ever been in a thunderstorm, sometimes it seems like God is pounding on some roof, shaking up the sky, and demanding your attention.  His love is endless, but so is his might.  “Listen!” he calls out from the storm!  He wants us to seek him and to love him.  And the time is now!  Why wait?  You may feel lost, or just lack the motivation it takes to build that relationship, but pray for strength to “break up for yourselves a new field.”  God loves us all individually and will always send people after us to show us his miracles and love and bring us back again.