Yesterday, after Mass, a woman approached me, and asked if my name was such and such. I told her it was. She then told me how much she enjoyed “TheSteppingStones“. I was surprised and pleasantly pleased inside. I am writing this to let her know that she doesn’t realize what a gift she gave me. For you see, I was having my doubts as to whether or not this blog site was of any benefit to anyone. In short, I was doubting the words and authority of Jesus. I was doubting that Jesus could work wonders, even with my puny attempts.
I would like to use that encounter as a springboard to this topic, namely, Our Actions: Their Influence on People. We have spoken many times about doing good, being kind and thoughtful, giving people the opportunity to laugh and we always have that action ending with bringing Christ to people. I would like to try, here and now, to connect the dots. How does a good action, or a kind or thoughtful word, or bringing a smile to a person’s face…how do these actually bring Jesus to people? In and of themselves …… they don’t. It is not like any action of ours will force Jesus’ presence to someone. We can’t think to ourselves, “That person over there, I will make him smile and he will think of Jesus”.
The answer lies in our love for Jesus. That is NOT a stretch. It is the truth. It is staring us in the face. God does not want us to be super heroes. He does not expect extraordinary sacrifices from us. He created man a little less than the angels. We are human beings. He wants us to be HUMAN. The woman after Mass did not think to herself, “I will help him feel better. I will tell him I like his blog site.” She doesn’t know if I am concerned about the blog site or not. She does not know what my thoughts are. She was just being human and told me of her appreciation of the site. That was it pure and simple. End of story….????
No, not the end, it is the beginning. Jesus showed us how to act, how to love, how to treat others, how to respect others. Why do we do this? Why do we listen to Him? Do we get a gold star? No, if we treat EVERYONE with love, concern and respect, because we love Jesus, then we give Jesus the opportunity to work through us. We might want to say one thing, but it comes out just a little bit differently. We might even wonder afterwards, “Why did I say that”, or “Why did I use that word”. We will probably never know if our words had any effect on someone. And so, we walk off wishing we could do something for Jesus, anything. Meanwhile, the other person has a glow in their heart, a feeling of warmth, that wasn’t there before our action. Don’t you see? We can’t plan what good actions we are to do. We can only love Jesus for all that He has done for us. We can only thank Him for the example He has given us.
His words to us are, “Love one another, as I have loved you, that you also love one another.” -1 If we, the church of God, the Body of Christ, loved Jesus above everything else, there would be no stopping the flow of love throughout the world. We wouldn’t have the madness that exists, today. If we love one another, AS Jesus loves us, how could we NOT love one another? Don’t relegate your prayer life to an after- thought. It is your talking to Jesus, your God. Grow to know Him, grow to feel His presence in and around you. Grow to love Him. If you do this you WILL love all that you meet. You won’t have to think, “What should I say to him, or her”. Treat them with the love that Christ gives you. Your words will speak for themselves.
Finally, to the woman in church, if you should be reading this, “Thank you. This is one of those occasions when you DO know that Jesus used you to speak to someone.”
1- John 13,14
The Stepping Stones 
if I remember my catholic school lessons.. Christ went to far away lands to study different philosophies and faiths… and incorporated them. Is it a coincidence all religions teach love, tollerance, charity, community, kindness, etc?
Zach, I don’t recall any mention of Christ going to far away lands to study. Most scholars feel that 90 miles from Nazareth was the most that He traveled. So a radius of 90 miles would not amount to far away lands. However, you do bring up an interesting point. You asked, “Is it a coincidence all religions teach love, tolerance, charity, community,kindness etc?” Do you believe in ONE God? Do you believe that God is GOOD? And lastly, Do you believe that God created the world and all mankind? If you answered, “yes” to those three questions, then you answered your original question. The One God, who is All-good, and created mankind could not/would not create a mankind that wasn’t good. Religions must teach those qualities you mentioned, because we, you and I and all mankind, have slipped and fallen out of the goodness that God gave us. If those religions really are trying to teach, educate and renew mankind, they must call attention to those same qualities that we have squandered. I hope this helps you in your endeavor of searching.