Genesis 16:1-12, 15-16 / Matthew 7:21-29
Human beings have this great gift of the freedom of choice.
With this gift of choice, a person can decide his direction in life and his destiny.
But with this gift of the freedom of choice, there comes a challenge.
This challenge is to let go of our freedom of choice and be obedient to a higher order or superior.
In the 1st reading, Sarai had no child, so in her own thinking, she decided to get children through her slave girl Hagar.
Although it was a cultural practice at that time, Sarai, as well as Abram, chose to let their own human thinking and designs chart their future’s direction.
But as it turned out, their ideas and ways went off course and things became unpleasant and ugly.
In the gospel, Jesus reminds us that it is not just about acknowledging Him as Lord, but to do the will of God.
To do the will of God is to surrender our freedom of choice to the Lord and to follow the ways of God.
The ways of God is difficult as it goes against our human reasoning and our liking.
But it is a choice between standing firmly on rock or to be washed away like the sand.
Let us choose the difficult ways of God and our lives will be at peace.