In the quiet moments of our lives, when the noise of daily concerns fades away, three profound questions echo through our souls, demanding honest examination of our hearts and actions. These are not merely philosophical inquiries, but urgent spiritual imperatives that should guide our everyday lives: Do I truly know God? Do I genuinely love others? What am I doing with the gifts He has entrusted to me? These questions pierce through our comfortable assumptions and challenge us to live with eternal perspective, recognizing that our time on earth is both precious and temporary, a sacred opportunity to align our lives with divine purpose.
The first question: "Do you know Me?" calls us beyond the knowledge to an intimate relationship with our Creator. To know God means to recognize Jesus Christ not as a distant biblical figure, but as the living Savior who willingly bore our sins and paid the ultimate price for our redemption. This knowledge transforms us from the inside out, awakening us to our desperate need for grace and the magnificent reality of God's love. When we truly know Him, we understand that we are sinners saved not by our merit but by His mercy. This knowledge becomes the foundation of our faith, the bedrock upon which all other spiritual growth is built. It moves us from religion to a relationship, from duty to devotion, from fear to love.
The second question, "Do you love?" reveals the authentic measure of our spiritual maturity. Jesus commanded us to love our neighbors as ourselves, and in doing so, He established love as the defining characteristic of His followers. Yet how often do we pass by the struggling stranger, ignore the family member who is living in poverty, or remain comfortable in our abundance while others suffer around us? True love is not mere sentiment but sacrificial action. It compels us to see beyond our own comfort zones and recognize that God's blessings in our lives are not meant for hoarding but for sharing, really caring for others. When we have been blessed immensely, we are called to give immensely, understanding that our material abundance is not a reward for our goodness but a tool for His kingdom purposes.
The third question, "What are you doing with My gifts?" confronts us with the reality of stewardship. Every blessing we possess, our compassion, our resources, our abilities, our time, comes from God's generous hand. Like the servants in Jesus' parable who were entrusted with talents, we are accountable for how we invest what we have been given. The servant who buried his coin in fear and selfishness faced his master's consequences, not because he lost money, but because he failed to understand the purpose of the gift. Our Lord blesses us so that we can be a blessing to others. Whether we have extra food to share, bills we can help pay, cars we can lend or purchase for those in need, or simply arms to embrace the hurting, we are called to be conduits of God's grace, not reservoirs that hoard His goodness. We must realize that God doesn't care what we have; what matters is what we do with what He blesses us with. We have been entrusted with a great responsibility to bless others as God has blessed us.
Living with eternal perspective means recognizing that our character, our mission, and our holiness are not separate compartments of life but integrated expressions of our relationship with God. We are all called to be in ministry in some capacity, not necessarily from pulpits, but in our neighborhoods, workplaces, and communities, where we can serve the Lord by serving others. Our holiness is measured not by our religious activities alone but by how we love God with our time, our resources, and our very lives. When we understand that everything we have belongs to Him and is given for His purposes, we find the freedom to live generously, love sacrificially, and serve joyfully. This is the life that prepares us for eternity, not one of selfish accumulation, but one of selfless distribution, reflecting the heart of our Savior who gave everything for us when we deserved nothing.
Watch for tomorrow's blog, lots of research and several rewrites over the last few days to craft a very important essay I wanted to write and share, titled: What Demons Steal: The Five Pillars of Spiritual Life Lost to Habitual Sin, inspired by C.S. Lewis's work The Screwtape Letters.
©2025 James Dacey Jr.
