About present and future
Let not a wise man boast of his wisdom, and let not the mighty man boast of his might, let not a rich man boast of his riches; but let him who boasts boast of this, that he understands and knows me, that I am the Lord who exercises loving-kindness, justice, and righteousness on earth; for I delight in these things, declarses the Lord. (Jeremiah 9:23-24)
It is intelligent and glorious to choose Jesus Christ “the Way, the Truth and the Life” that leads to God, the Eternal, and to follow the footsteps of the one whom in his humiliation and as our forerunner and model lived among humanity full of grace and truth, kindness and forgiveness, compassion and mercy, honesty and justice. We cannot boast in these virtues.
For who regards you as superior? And what do you have that you did not receive? (1 Corinthians 4:7)
Who can boast of his successes, his wealth and his courage? Such is rich only because God gave him the capacity. His success is not the inevitable result of his efforts. Many things could have happened and ruin his business. The real capital that is given us is the capacity “to choose” the good that shapes our inner man. What matters is not what we possess but who we are; what is really ours; what we shall take in Eternity.
So then neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but God who causes the growth. Now he who plants and he who waters are one; but each will receive his own reward according to his own labor. For we are God’s fellow workers; you are God’s field, God’s building. (1 Corinthians 3:7-9)
We are only responsible for our choices. The result is in the hands of God. When we seek to do good and our efforts do not produce the desired result, we have not to feel guilty. It is God who writes the script of the scenes that take place in the theater of the outside world; our exclusive right is to write the script of our inner life by choosing to enrich it by kindness, patience, noble thoughts, attitudes, perceptions, interpretations, feelings, answers, etc. In choosing to do good we will become good, even if for reasons beyond our control we are not always able to accomplish the deeds. Only the efforts made to do the will of God are our responsibility, the success is in his hands.
The secrets things belong to the Lord our God, but the things revealed belong to us und to our ones forever, that we may observe all the words of this law. (Deuteronomy 29:29)
Because we do not know the future, we must learn to live the daily life as best we can. It is up to us to make choices that honor God, and are able to transform our inner man into his image from glory to glory. Solomon who understood that his kingdom and the Temple would be destroyed wondered:
What advantage does man have in all his work, which he does under the sun? (Ecclesiastes 1:2-3)
Today, we know that the real task of a life is not the building of temples and churches but building of the kingdom of heaven in the hearts. Now we can better understand better Solomon's disappointment and his ultimate exhortation:
Fear God and keep His commandments, because this applies to every person. For God will bring every act to judgment, everything which is hidden, whether it is good or evil. (Ecclesiastes 12:13-14)
Some do not want children because they fear that they may turn wrong. Nevertheless, the future of the children is not the parent’s business; their role is simply to educate them according to God's will. The future of the children is God's business. When the king Hezekiah fell seriously ill, the prophet Isaiah came and told him,
Thus says the Lord, set your house in order, for you shall die and not live. (2 Kings 20:1).
Not being married, Hezekiah seems to conclude that his disease resulted from his carelessness toward the commandment
Be fruitful and multiply. (Genesis 1:27)
Hezekiah cried bitterly, and God added fifteen years to his life. Later, he married the daughter of the prophet Isaiah and she gave him a son: Manasseh. This one, despite his royal education, showed a twisted and evil character such as he eventually kills, his grandfather Isaiah; adored idols and caused the destruction of the people. No one would have wanted such a rogue for a son, least of all the good Hezekiah who throughout his life was fighting idol worship. However, Hezekiah had - as we all do - no other mission then to follow God's commandments, and entrust him the future. This is the mission of us all!
The earthly life gives us the opportunity to know God, and the earthly things the means to build the inner man so that he may reflect the image of God. Even when the world collapses around us, our mission is to grow inside through much suffering. In tests, there is always a winner and a loser. Nevertheless, often “who wins loses; who loses win”. Because if the one who surmounts a test does not become better he is actually the loser. Whereas the one who accepts his defeat humbly and with contentment transforms the defeat into a beautiful victory. Anyway, God causes all things to work together for good to those who love him, and always for the best. Even losing a job may be for the best because the next job (less paid indeed, and among people that are more difficult) will allow making new choices that will transform and enrich life. For God who is faithful will not allow us to be tempted beyond our strength, but with the temptation, he gives us the means to go out of it and forces to bear it. (cf. I Corinthians 10:3)