John 3:32-33
He testifies to what he has seen and heard, but no one accepts his testimony. Whoever does accept his testimony certifies that God is trustworthy.
How much faith and trust do you REALLY have in God? Many of us believe that we are good, upstanding Christians, walking in righteousness. But we are human and we mess up. We don't like to look at our mess ups, but we blow it every day in some fashion. In today's social media world and political sphere, we are pulled and influenced by so many opinions. Many of these go against the grain of what God taught us and the commandments that were passed down through the centuries. We say we are pro-life, but make exceptions for the death penalty. We say we are non-judgmental, yet we are holding a stone to throw at the latest politician, celebrity, newsmaker etc. You may have heard the phrase, "cafeteria Christians, or Cafeteria Catholics." We pick and choose what we want to believe versus what God teaches.
Today's reading is a summation of the previous verses. The author speaks of the acceptance of earthly things that are countercultural to what God is teaching. What comes from God is God's, what comes from earth is earth's. We come from this earth, made by God, but live in sin. We need to look inwardly and make a promise to ourselves and to God to not pick and choose what we WANT to believe, but follow God's commandments to the fullest. Jesus said that the path would not be easy but instead we may have a cross to carry. It takes great courage to stand for truth even if it's against the norm of society. We need to live God's way, not our way. Make the right choice today in all things.
