Thursday of the 5th week in ordinary time
1 Kings 11: 4-13 Mark 7:24-30
Theme: The anger of God
In the 1st reading of today, we see the anger of God against Solomon. This stems from the fact that, Solomon in his old age worshipped other gods, even though God warned him twice not to do it. This action greatly angered God, and as a result, he decided to take the kingdom from Solomon and leave him with only one, because of David his father. However, all this will not take place during the time of Solomon, but rather during the reign of his son. The action of God in todays 1st reading is saying a lot to all of us as children of God. This is an aspect of God that many of us don’t like to discuss. It is easier for us to refer to God as a loving father, merciful, and compassionate, he is also a God of justice. What gave rise to the anger of God in todays 1st reading is the fact that Solomon went against the warning of God and worshipped idols.
In the same way, we all are reminded of the fact that we worship a jealous God, and we must be mindful of the things we do. This brings me to a very important question; is there an idol you have in your life that has taken the place of God? Some of us have idols of different types that we go to when we find ourselves in challenging situations in our lives, even though we still present ourselves as Christians and children of God. We must be very careful, lest we attract the anger of God to ourselves.
None of us can stand the anger of God when it comes, so we must be very careful about the choices we make in our daily lives. It is never too late for one to retrace his or her step and return to God. We have seen over time that as many that retrace their steps and return to God remorsefully, he will forgive. So, make that life changing decision today and see how God will change your life for the better. Now is the time to make that decision and embrace the word of God. Never allow anything in your life take the place of God. Interestingly, for some of us, human beings have taken the place of God in their lives, for others it is material things that has taken the place of God, this is a grave mistake.
May God grant us the grace to put him first in everything we do in our lives, in the name of the father and of the son and of the holy spirit, Amen. Peace be with you.