“If today you hears God’s voice, harden not your hearts.” We can hear God’s voice calling out to us in a lot of ways, but it is our choice to follow that voice or to ignore it. There was a young man named Anthony who was born to a very wealthy family in Egypt in the 3rd century. He heard God’s voice calling out to him in Scripture as he heard the story of the rich young man who asked Jesus for advice, and who was told to sell everything he had, to give the money to the poor, and to find his true treasure in heaven. Anthony went into the desert; he spent 20 years in solitude and tried to battle the demons and desires that tormented him. He acquired quite a following and much admiration. Anthony of Egypt eventually became the founder of a monastic community, and after Athanasius wrote a biography of Anthony and his discipleship of faith, he became a great example for all of us, even for us as modern followers of Christ so many centuries later. St Anthony preceded St Benedict, the father of Western monasticism, by 200 years. Anthony offers us an example of being a monk outside of a community of monks in a monastery.
How is God’s voice calling out to us today? Are our heart’s hardened to his voice, or are our hearts ready to receive his call?
No comments:
Post a Comment