12 Jul Serpents and Doves (Mt 10:16)
Behold, I am sending you like sheep in the midst of wolves; so be shrewd as serpents and simple as doves. ~ Mt 10:16
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Reflection: This passage is well-known among Christians and it represents solid guidance to help us navigate the modern world in which we live. The justification for Christ’s seemingly contradictory guidance is found in Matthew’s following verses: “But beware of people, for they will hand you over to courts and scourge you in their synagogues, and you will be led before governors and kings for my sake as a witness before them and the pagans.” These words could have been written today. Our Christian values regarding the sanctity of life, marriage, traditional families, etc., are under attack by the very government that should be pledged to defend them. We don’t have to look far to see throngs of “people” looking the other way as our moral values are destroyed and replaced with the values of long-ago pagans. How far away are we from being “handed over to the courts” and from being “led before governors and kings”? Given the 60 million unborn American children killed because of the legal authorization of “the courts” I would argue we are already there. As our freedoms, rights and values are increasingly constricted it could seem as if the encroaching darkness we feel is the slow fading of hope. However, there is refuge from the deceit and darkness of the modern world. Our safe harbor is God and He marks the entrance to His refuge with a blinding light of Truth. As the world makes the practice of our Faith increasingly difficult, we are called to be increasingly shrewd and simultaneously simple. In order to seek and advance eternal Truths, we need to use the cleverness of our minds and the fundamentals of our Faith, we need to follow the command of our Lord to be “shrewd as serpents and simple as doves.”
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Challenge: Be shrewdly simple today. Think about how you can shrewdly shape your environment to convey the simple message that all Life is a gift from God.
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Pray LIFE Runners Creed to end abortion. Add Prayers.
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Inspiration: “The ordinary acts we practice every day at home are of more importance to the soul than their simplicity might suggest.” ~ St. Thomas More
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All In Christ for Pro-Life!