God has a plan for us, but we can't "think" our way to it by ourselves. There is no way to understand the mind and heart of God unless one has the mind and heart of God: Christians, treasure your baptism! In the sacraments of the faith, we know that God pours His very life into us. The only way to be holy is to receive God's gift of Himself and live in a way that is receptive, every moment of our lives.
God knew that the fulness of His life could never be communicated through a written law, hence the expiration of the Law of Moses and the Old Covenant. The Old Covenant--and by extension any kind of "self reliance"-- is designed to prepare our hearts to desire and receive God's grace, because we know the futility of our own efforts. In the sacraments of the New Covenant, the natural is elevated to the supernatural so that it can commune with the supernatural. Through the Holy Spirit, we can know the mind and heart of God and participate in God's Triune life, in accordance with His will.
It is absolutely necessary that we be receptive of God's grace because God "puts it all together" in a way that defies our understanding. For example, Jesus is a God of seeming contradictions: fully human and fully God, physical and spiritual, a pauper and a King, all powerful yet crucified, the epitome of self-denial yet accused of gluttony, drunkenness, and keeping bad company. Jesus summons us to continue his revolutionary life in which all good things find their unity; it is a kind of holiness that is fresh, exciting, seemingly contradictory, and totally holy and in sync with the Father. There is simply no way we can "get it" unless Jesus coaches us, living and walking with us, side by side.
We can not think and try our way there. We need to receive the life of Jesus. In the same way that you don't learn how to dress or talk from reading a book, rather by hanging out with the cool kids, we need to "hang out" with Jesus. Yet, Jesus has promised to do so much more than "hang out" with us. He has promised to indwell us. He has given us His very body and blood; through Communion, His blood flows through our veins. Our relationship with Him is a nuptial one; more intimate than intimacy between husband and wife. It's okay if that sounds like "too much," "strange," or to admit that we don't fully understand how it all works. For now, we walk by faith not by sight. A God who would die on the cross for His creation is "too much,"; how fortunate for us!
When we learn how to recognize and live in the presence of God, everything changes. Destructive fears, anxieties, insecurities, guilt, and all pathologies melts away; only what is constructive is left. We hear a voice that prompts us to turn right or left. When we don't hear anything, we lean into that unknown and trust.
God is so much more than an co-pilate though. God's primary gift to us is His own life. This means that, in time, we can share in God's own blessed existence. We will see what is good and beautiful in everyone, including ourselves. We will be patient and merciful towards what is not good and beautiful, as God is. We will not resent the work of life. All of creation will be sacred for us. We will find ourselves participating fully in the moments that present themselves. Deep down, our heart longs to find and join the party; in God, we find, and join it!
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