Mt 11:20-24 Will You Be Exulted To Heaven?

Matthew 11:20-24 Will you be exulted to heaven?

There comes a time in our life when we have to make some tough decisions. Today the Lord is inviting us to say “yes” to Him with all our heart, soul, mind and will. Will I or will I not say “yes” to a new life in Christ? Will I or will I not follow the Law of God? Our holiness begins with every new day; it should not end with the end of the day.

Think about this for a moment. All the miracles that Christ performed were simply not enough to change the hearts of the men of his time (and not even the men of our time). In my own life, I have preached at many Masses, heard many confessions, and witnessed many conversions. But it has not been enough to finally push someone over the edge towards Christ. What will do it? An open heart. In fact, open heart surgery. Even better, a heart transplant! It’s true, man cannot live by bread alone; nor can he live with his own heart. It’s simply not big enough for eternal life.

Our true quality of life does not depend upon income, but rather on our expenses, how much we gave; that is, how we loved. We must come out ahead every single day. Otherwise the day is a loss. A little love produces an abundance of gratitude and understanding. Love is paid in full only with love. We should always strive for positive earnings – to be loved. Are we faithful to our personal commitments with the Lord? Do I know what the Lord demands from me today? Have I put myself in my neighbor’s place and am I willing to give until it hurts? Life is all about grace, and what I do with what the Lord generously gives to me. How do I respond to the Lord’s voice? Listen carefully because “If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts.”

What to do with a heart of stone? Facts are useless – meaningless - to a hard heart. They do not penetrate. A hard heart is like a prison cell. The one who suffers the most is the one who cannot forgive or ask for forgiveness! “Repentance does not come from God - it is not forced upon anyone. Repentance comes from the heart, the center of all my decisions. Jesus invites us to his banquet, we need only to attend. God knows miracles will never be enough. Not even the resurrection was enough. Not even coming down from the cross would have been enough. We are stubborn. We talk about donkeys being stubborn, but nothing compares to a prideful man (or woman!). We learn from a very young age, that all we need to do is hold out for a certain amount of time. Well, time is up! Even Jesus “began to reproach the towns where most of his mighty deeds had been done, since they had not repented.” Life is coming to an end. Eternal life is about to begin. Why waste another second with indecision or a “let’s wait and see” attitude? We have been given all that it takes to be a Saint or a scoundrel. “Will you be exulted to heaven? Or will you go down to the nether world?” A Saint lives it up - to the full. A scoundrel creates in his own misery, bathed by his own sins of fear and doubt, especially when he realizes, for the first time, that he is neither in charge of this world nor his own life. It kills him to experience turns of events. The prophet Isaiah is sent by the Lord to shore up the king. “Unless your faith is firm, you shall not be firm.” The Lord sent his Son to firm up our faith. “Unless you die to yourself, you shall not rise with me.”