Giving time to Jesus..

One thing I think a lot of us struggle with is finding time for our faith. Life just seems to get in the way. This week I’ve been thinking about how much time I spend on different aspects of my life in an average week:

Sleeping	60 Hours
Working	50 Hours
Uni work	20 Hours
Eating	10 Hours
Laptop/Phone	10 Hours
Football	5 Hours
Reading	5 Hours
Praying/Mass	2 Hours

Try filling out a similar table and see what your results are.

So on paper I spend just over 1% is devoted to my faith. But I don’t feel that is a fair reflection. The point of this exercise is to say it is impossible for God to compete for time in our everyday lives. I can’t be expected to come in from work and spend 9 hours doing the rosary to make up for it. Obviously it is possible to dedicate more time to Jesus, we can join prayer groups, go to mass more than once a week or spend more time in quiet reflection. But the most effective way to ensure we are witnesses to our faith is to make sure we live our lives through Christ in everything we do and offer our lives to God.

This is easier said than done, it’s unrealistic we are all going to rush out and start Evangelizing to everyone we meet or walk down the high street reciting the bible. We need to make small, realistic aims to try and strengthen our faith one step at a time. As it is said in the Gospel of Luke those of us who can be trusted in small matters will be trusted with much more.

Looking at my list I spend a majority of my time at work, am I making the most of this time spiritually? My aim is to try and have more open and honest discussions regarding my faith with my colleagues. This is a scary prospect and one I doubt will come easily. By concentrating on this difficult but achievable task I believe I can increase my love of Jesus and develop the ability to talk openly about my faith. To help me do this I will pray for the gift of words, not to preach to others but to try and explain to them how much my faith means to me and how good it makes me feel. It is unlikely I am going to convert someone while sat at my desk but if I can plant a seed or change someone’s perspective of faith then it’ll be worth it.

Why not make a table of your week and think about how you can strengthen your relationship with God and give yourself an achievable task.

YCM

In the beginning..

I don't really believe in new years resolutions, people like to convince themselves they will change their negative traits only to be disappointed if they fail and feel even worse. However I do think it is always good to have goals and take stock and look at our lives occasionally and see how we can do better. This year for example I've started a blog. I want to share my thoughts and experiences with like-minded people. I would like to help others and be helped through the difficulties in our lives and also share the joy of life.

I have one simple aim in this world and that is to live like Christ. I take great blessings and happiness from my faith and we should try and tell as many people as possible how good God can be to each and every one of us if we learn how to ask for his love. We should be an example of how great humans can be by putting their entire lives into the hands of Jesus. This simple aim is an incredibly difficult ideal but by having a focus it helps to deal with everything that life throws at us. We will be persecuted as Christians, we will be attacked for being different, we will be abused for having faith. But this is nothing unexpected, Christ was persecuted, the apostles were attacked, all disciples of Jesus suffer abuse. God will give us the strength we need to deal with the hardships in life and reward us a thousand times more with peace, security and love when we stay true to the name of his only son Jesus.

My new years resolution is to try and develop a greater relationship with God the father, Jesus his only son and the Holy Spirit. My goal is to love all those I meet the same way that I am loved by God. This is not an aim for 2012, this is not a diet or a fad that will be forgotten about by February. This is my core, this is who I am, this is the path God chose for me. Please pray that I may be true to myself when faced with temptation, that I may love those who hate me, that I may inspire others to live theirs lives through Jesus Christ.

YCM