03-10-24 Jembatan Kasih : Menjadi jembatan penghubung antara teman dan Tuhan

Thursday 26th week in ordinary time "Lk 10:1-12" After this the Lord appointed seventy others, and sent them on ahead of him, two by two, into every town and place where he himself was about to come. And he said to them, "The harvest is plentiful, but the labourers are few; pray therefore the Lord of the harvest to send out labourers into his harvest." Jesus sent His disciples to every town and place that He Himself was about to visit. Our Lord would go and He would meet them. They would see Him, hear His preaching and even talk to Him. But before that, His disciples had to prepare the people of those towns and places. They had to communicate the Good News: 'Jesus was about to come!' Just like His disciples, we have to prepare our friends for their encounter with Our Lord. Be aware that our mission is not to 'convert' people. God does that when He meets everyone at some point during their lives. But before that encounter, He sends His disciples (you and me) to prepare those souls He is planning to meet personally. A young lad was down in the dumps. After spending lots of time trying to get his friend close to God, this friend of his told him plainly, "Listen, we are best friends, but I will never get close to your God. I will never believe in Him." Discouraged, the young boy went to chat with the priest. With a smile, the priest reassured him with words he could never forget, "Your friend will never get close to God. God will get close to him. Your friend will never find God. God will find him. Your friend doesn't need to believe in God. God believes in him. He died on the Cross for him and will not forget to meet him one day." And laying his hand on the boy's shoulder, the priest added, "The time you spend with him is never wasted. The prayers you say for him are always heard. Your conversations will never be forgotten. Your efforts will never be lost. Your seed will give fruit. You don't give up for God will never give up on him." Those words became prophetic a few years later, when his friend decided to change his life and go to the Sacraments. God has sent us to prepare our friends for their meeting with Christ. We don't know when it will happen. But it certainly will happen. Mary, Queen of the Apostles, give me that determination I need to never give up in my apostolate.