Fifth Friday of the Great Fast

Genesis 18:1-19

Joshua 14:6-15

Roman 13:1-14

John 8:30-59

God visits us regularly. How do we recognize Him? It is through our actions that we and others feel the presence of God among us. For Abraham, all his actions testify that he is visited by Yahweh regularly. For a person who acknowledges the regular visit of God, the the bond among them is very thick. Both the parties are in a helpless situation to avoid each other and to hide things from each other. This passage is an obvious example of this. Yahweh-Abraham relationship is one of the greatest Divine-Human encounters in the history of humanity.

Rewards for the ones who obey God are in abundance. Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, Joshua are examples for this. Caleb son of Jephunneh is another one in the line. He was bold enough to say that he has faithfully obeyed Yahweh his God. He gets the city of Hebron as an inheritance in return to his commitment to Yahweh. His trust in Yahweh is what is more important. He says, “if Yahweh is with me, I shall drive them (a race of giants) out as Yahwheh said.” With God, nothing is impossible.

Duties and responsibilities of a Christian are very categorically specified in Chapter 13 of the letter of St. Paul to the Romans. Christianity is a way of life. It is a life in the path of the Nazarene. When we are in this world, we are expected to accept and respect all the legitimate authorities. Christians live as salt of the earth. Christianity improves the quality of life in any social setup. Paul justifies his arguments by asking us to be in love with everyone. For, love cannot do the neighbour any harm and it fulfills the whole Law.

Are we the children of God? How do we know it? Abraham justified and testified through his actions his relationship with God. He proved that he is a true son of God. Joshua and Caleb through their actions proved their legitimacy. Paul advocated for the true sonship of God by fulfilling the commandment of love. If we are children of God, we will do accordingly as God wanted us to do. Jesus challenges us to prove by our actions our legitimacy. If we are from God, we hear the words of God and we do according to the words of God. This is the surest test to prove what we are.