Happy Feast Day of St. Ignatius of Loyola! For those of you who do not know, he was the founder of the Society of Jesus, or the Jesuits! The Jesuit motto, "Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam," or "For the Greater Glory of God" has always been special to me. It's been the signature line of my email for quite a few years now and it's really good to think about.
Earlier today I was picking raspberries out in the yard and I began to think about what it means to really do things for the greater glory of God. I got to thinking about what this practically looks like in our lives, and how even the smallest things can be done for the glory of God... for instance I was picking raspberries. But I had my ipod in and I was listening to praise and worship music while I worked. But then I realized that every berry I picked could be offered up as a small gift to the Lord. Berry by berry I offered God a little gift of love. It was simple, but it was one way of making even my little job of picking raspberries a way of getting closer to God.
Thinking about why we do something can make all the difference. Sometimes (okay more like any time I have to wake up before 9 am) I struggle to wake up in the morning. I am very much a night person and so this is hard for me. But a couple weeks ago as I laid in bed struggling to get the will power to sit up, I realized that even this little act could be offered as a gift to the Lord. I thought to myself, "Jesus, I love You more than how much I want to lay here." Rather than trying to convince myself to not fall back asleep, by offering this little struggle to the Lord He gave me the strength to actually do it. And this can be used in so many other situations, too, by filling in whatever it is you want to offer. "Jesus, I love You more..."
When we allow our lives to become filled with little gifts of love to Jesus, when we do the little things out of love for Him, when we do all things for the greater glory of God... this world will slowly be filled with more and more beauty. Do something beautiful today; however small the act might be, offer Jesus the gift of your love.
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