To the Ends of the Earth - Mark C. McCann

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you make this journey, determine to spend more time in prayer, study, and worship to grow in your faith. Look for opportunities to interact with your brothers, as you build one another up, carry one another’s burdens, and hold one another accountable before God. Love your families and your communities with the same uncompromising love that Christ has poured out onto you. Look for ways to make this world a better place by being a man who represents Christ and his Church well. Look forward to all the blessings that are to come in God’s good time!

      Introduction

       The Love We Leave Behind

      The world as we know it is passing away.

      There is, however, an eternal inheritance awaiting us in heaven. As we travel on the road of salvation, we follow in the footsteps of the saints who have previously walked the narrow way. Our inheritance in the Kingdom of God has been secured for us by the cross of Christ, a holy birthright that we are called to pass on to the generations of believers who will come after us. The legacy of our Catholic faith is a heavenly one, grounded in Christ and lived out in our daily lives as we move from faith to faith, with our eyes ever fixed on the prize that awaits us in the kingdom yet to come.

      We hope to one day look back upon our lives and see the blessings that have come through the steps we have taken and the choices we have made. We must ask ourselves whether we have brought joy into sorrow, peace into struggle, and wisdom into uncertainty. Have our families, our friends, and our Church been made richer because they bear the imprint of our lives? Will our contributions to the Catholic Church, large and small, lead others closer to the One who came to set them free? Will the words we have spoken and the actions we have taken result in a more blessed family reunion around the banquet table at the heavenly wedding feast? These are questions each of us must be willing to ask as we live our lives.

      We have power to share the blessings of our faith with this world, to live lives of honesty and integrity, casting off falsehood in favor of gospel truth. Committing to the cause of Christ puts us in the thick of the battle, where our faith is tested time and time again. Jesus never promised an easy life to those who believed. In fact, he told us we would face trouble, division, persecution, and even death for the sake of the kingdom. Yet God also assures us that he will never leave us or forsake us (cf. Heb 13:5), and that he has wonderful, prosperous plans for our lives (cf. Jer 29:11). We who believe can rest assured that when the world around us is shaking to its very foundations, God remains the unshakable, all-powerful Lord of the glad city of heaven.

      This is what leaving a legacy is all about. In Christ, we are born into a new life from above, gifted and empowered to carry out our purpose for the Kingdom of God, and joined to a community of faith so that we may support one another and build up the body of believers. We are called to draw the lost into the family of faith, to grow as individuals, and to become all that we have been called to become. Everything we do should reveal to the world that we are but pilgrims on this earth, walking in faith straight into the heavenly places. When we have left this world for the world to come, our greatest joy should be that when people looked at us, they saw Jesus and him alone.

      During this ten-week study, we will consider the challenge of the Gospel to place our mark upon the world and to shape the Church that has so beautifully shaped each of us. Every aspect of our lives as Christians is meant to carry out the Great Commission of making disciples, baptizing them and teaching them as Jesus has taught us, and resting on the final promise that Jesus will be with us to the end of the age (cf. Mt 28:16–20). Let all you read and consider and pray over in the days to come lead you to a greater awareness of how you are helping to ready the Bride of Christ for the day when the Bridegroom comes again to call her to the Wedding Feast.

      Week 1

       The Best-Laid Plans …

      Do not boast about tomorrow,

      for you do not know what a day may bring forth.

      He who tends a fig tree will eat its fruit,

      and he who guards his master will be honored.

      Know well the condition of your flocks,

      and give attention to your herds;

      for riches do not last for ever;

      and does a crown endure to all generations?

      Proverbs 27:1, 18, 23–24

      Men tend to like order. When we make plans, we like to stick to them. We are also providers who want to make sure our families have what they need. Yet in this broken world of ours, situations change, human beings can be fickle, and unpredictable events pop up all the time. Just when we think everything is fine, a sudden illness comes along, a friend falls away, our employment changes, or some other disaster strikes. These realities teach us that to rely on our best-laid plans places us on shaky ground.

      Though we are but dust and ashes, God enables us to live our lives and make plans for the future — plans that impact not just us, but those who will come after us as well. Yet, ultimately, God is in charge of everything, including the course of our lives and the legacy we leave behind. Still, we are called to be attentive to our responsibilities as Catholic men. This week, we will reflect on how we are to strike the balance between making plans and trusting God. We will consider the following points:

      1. God cares about our efforts and rewards them.

      While God is all-powerful and does not need our help (cf. Acts 17:25), he still calls us to take care of ourselves and those he has placed in our care. We have his promise that, if we are faithful to him, we will reap the harvest of our efforts and experience God’s provision.

      2. God is the power that binds all things together.

      We may feel we have control of our lives, but God alone is before all things and holds everything together (cf. Col 1:17). We have the power to make plans and direct our actions only because God has given it to us. Instead of relying on our own strength to prepare for our future, and for the generations that will follow us, we must rely on God alone.

      3. God directs all things for good.

      Often as we make our own plans, we forget that God’s plan for us is bolder, bigger, and much better than we could ever imagine. God has planned a future full of hope and not harm for his people (cf. Jer 29:11). We can trust that he directs all things for good (cf. Rom 8:28), knowing that our fear and doubt will give way to faith in the unfolding of his perfect will.

      4. God’s purposes for our lives prevail.

      We make many plans, but in the end it is God’s will that will stand (cf. Prv 19:21). We live, we work, and we plan for our future; yet in everything, God’s eternal and perfect will still comes to pass. He loves us that much.

      5. We have no cause for worry.

      God’s plan was never designed to cause us anxiety or fear. As we work to find our place and leave our mark in this life, we can allow the daily worries to give way to childlike trust, knowing God greatly desires to provide all that we need to complete the journey he has set for us.

      This Week’s Call to Action

      This week, be mindful of the sovereign God who calls us to journey toward tomorrow while relying on him to see us through. Though we have no guarantee of our next breath, we exist, we prosper, and we gain heaven all because of the love of God given to us in Christ. Thank God for his guidance and provision. Let your plans be centered on his promises and commands. Serve him by seeking his will and living it out in all you say and do. Take time for prayer, study, fellowship, and worship throughout the week.

      As you interact with others, remember that nothing is a surprise to God. Nothing is beyond the scope of his will and his power to work all things out according to his divinely laid plans. Let this precious truth calm your fears and guide your steps as you work out your legacy and look toward a future where lives are changed, joy flows freely, and hope reveals itself in the plans that God has laid out for you.

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