Here is a reflection that was shared with me the other day. It offers great spiritual insights regarding our relationship with this world, with possessions, and even with our human relationships. May it lead you to a deeper reflection and prayer before our loving God!
“What does it mean to leave all and follow Christ?… What if, rather than asking me to surrender everything, Jesus might be asking me to hold all things lightly? Is it possible to enjoy the gifts life lavishes on me without becoming obsessively attached to them? My possessions! My cherished beliefs, opinions, and ideas! My friends! My customary way of doing things!… Holding things lightly does not require a total surrender, although it does imply that my hands and heart are open if this kind of surrender should prove to be the greater good… Every gift I possess can be an icon: an image of God, leading me to hallowed places…Everything I possess can be a window to God. However, to truly see my possessions as icons and allow them to bless me, I must hold them lightly. When I lighten my grip or cling to any gift in an exclusive kind of way, it becomes an idol instead of an icon… If I hold an object or possession lightly, it can become a pathway to God; if I cling to it tightly, it may become a stumbling block on my pathway to God.” (from The Beautiful Struggle of Daily Life)
This reflection helps us to see that our relationship with this world should exist in that perfect tension between two extremes: complete attachment to the world and complete detachment from the world. That tension, that balance, that middle ground, allows us to embrace the gifts of this world as a true gift of God which is meant to be enjoyed, while at the same time being willing to let go of anything that stands in the way of our relationship with God, our true freedom from this world. May the gifts we have received from God never overshadow the Giver, who wants to be known and loved by us.
Fr. Wojtek Kuzma