WHY

Dt 4:32-40; Ps 77 I remember the deeds of the Lord; Mt 16:24-28

We have entered into the Book of Deuteronomy.  It is the last book of Moses, before he bids farewell and gives the reigns to another.

Most of the book of Deuteronomy is a looking backwards.

We live forward but we understand it backwards.  That is we can only sometimes makes sense out of life by stop, hitting the pause button, and replay what we have experienced.

Only in retracing our steps can we begin to see the pattern unfold, the hand of God at work.  Too often we rush full speed ahead with out a second look and we miss it altogether.

We need to stop, pause, replay often so that we can see the hand of God at work and thus enter into a familiar litany of gratitude that unfortunately is not familiar enough.

In our attempt to pray we should begin to include this pausing and looking backward so that gratitude and appreciation blossom in our heart.

As we look to the reading today at Moses' invitation to remember what God has done, we discover God's motivation.  Why does God do what he does?  Why does he put up with us and or rebellious nature?

Short and quick answer: God does what he does so that he might be made known to us.  He wants to be known so that he can be loved not for his benefit but for ours.

This is the most important part of the revelation.  God makes himself known not for himself but purely for our benefit as we embrace the gift of life.

We honor God by following his commands, this is true, but the honor given to God ultimately is honor given to us, ourselves.

We are the beneficiaries.


We live forward but understand it backwards and thus gratitude becomes real and true strengthen rises in the heart.