“I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who will judge the living and the dead, and by his appearing and his kingly power: proclaim the word; be persistent whether it is convenient or inconvenient; convince, reprimand, encourage through all patience and teaching.” – 2 Timothy 4:1-2. This statement is a pretty powerful challenge. Not only is Paul challenging us to proclaim the word, he is challenging us to do so when it is not convenient for us! How many times do we find ourselves in a situation where we totally disagree with the conversation or actions that are going on around us, but we don’t do or say anything because we don’t want to “rock the boat?” I know it happens to me more than I would like. Very few people enjoy conflict, but we know in the back of our minds that is what may happen when we speak out against those around us. But what happens if we don’t speak our minds? Are we being true to God? If we were in that same situation and the people around us were making false accusations about our spouse, children, parents, siblings, etc, would we say anything? I believe in that situation the vast majority of people (if not everyone) would have the love they feel for the person being attacked greatly outweigh the fear of conflict and they would speak out. They would defend their family regardless of the cost. So why don’t we defend God the same way? Why do we feel differently about a God who loves us so much that he sent his only son to die on a cross so we could be with him forever? Not because HE made a mistake, but because WE made a mistake. WE messed up and HE paid the price. Yet, we still sit back and let him get thrown under the bus because we don’t want to make waves. This comparison, at least for me, made me realize something. When I asked myself why I would go to great lengths to defend my family, the answer was simple, I love them and would do anything for them. So, if I ask myself the same question about why I sometimes don’t defend God, the answer scared me a little. Does that mean that I don’t love God? But if I do love God, then why do I back down when I know my friend is being attacked? I think the answer will be a little different for each one of us, but I think it comes down to how much we know God vs how much we know our family. We have watched our kids grow up, have watched our parents care for us, have witnessed our family love us, but much of the time we don’t have those same tangible experiences with God. That doesn’t mean that God loves us any less than our family, He actually loves us more than any human being ever could. I think the difference is we haven’t taken the time to understand how much God truly loves us, so we don’t appreciate it like we should. You can’t love something that you don’t know, so the more we know God, the more we will be able to love him. The more we read scripture, pray, experience the Sacraments, and have fellowship with other believers, the more we will be connected to God, the more we will be able to love God. Then we will truly want to defend God, not out of a sense of responsibility, but out of a sense of love. “But when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?” I believe he will, all we need to do is make the time to truly know the God who loves us. Then when he comes, we will hear those sought-after words: “Well done, good and faithful servant.”

Pax Christi,

John D. Mihalko