The three keys to unlock the door that leads to knowing the will and God’s purpose
On the Canção Nova TV program “Sorrindo Pra Vida” [Smiling at Life] Alexandre Oliveira shared the word of God to teach us what are the three keys to the will and purpose of God.
Read the words of Galatians 6:1-10
Brothers, even if a person is caught in some transgression, you who are spiritual should correct that one in a gentle spirit, looking to yourself, so that you also may not be tempted. Bear one another’s burdens, and so you will fulfill the law of Christ. For if anyone thinks he is something when he is nothing, he is deluding himself. Each one must examine his own work, and then he will have reason to boast with regard to himself alone, and not with regard to someone else; for each will bear his own load.
One who is being instructed in the word should share all good things with his instructor. Make no mistake: God is not mocked, for a person will reap only what he sows, because the one who sows for his flesh will reap corruption from the flesh, but the one who sows for the spirit will reap eternal life from the spirit. Let us not grow tired of doing good, for in due time we shall reap our harvest, if we do not give up. So then, while we have the opportunity, let us do good to all, but especially to those who belong to the family of the faith.
Let’s imagine that we are facing an immense door, and we will not be able to open it without three keys. These keys are different from each other, and we will only be able to unlock the door if we have all three.
The word tells us exactly that. This door says the Word is the law of Christ, the door that, when open, gives us access to the will of God, which leads us to fulfill the purpose he has for our lives.
These three keys are like a mirror, a cross and a handful of seeds. God gives us those keys that we use all of them and come to him.
The cross that we carry every day for us is a weight. The word tells us to carry to burden, because we will be fulfilling the will of the Lord. First, the Evangelist says that we have to carry the burden of the others; then he says we need to load our own burden.
The Apostle is not going into contradiction. The first burden refers to help others with their difficulties. In the second, this load refers to our responsibility, that one that only fits Us.
There are situations in our life that are difficult to deal with, in which sometimes we need the help of our brothers and sisters. We have to have the humility to ask for help and the nobility of offering to help the brothers.
This help of the other leads us to make use of a handful of seeds, because, if we do the right things with people, we will reap the fruits of our action. We can’t live on an island, see our suffering only, we have to look at the others and realize the struggles that the brothers face too.
Paul asks us what we have sown and where we sow. We have to sow love and concrete gestures, but they need to be seeded in the Spirit, not on self-reliance of our humanity or in our selfishness. Sowing in the Holy Spirit is getting out of ourselves and going out to find his brother.
Knowing that we are those seeds, we look in the mirror so that lets us examine ourselves. We can fool everybody, but if fool ourselves we are lost. We must examine ourselves to have self-knowledge, not just look for our faults, but also our good qualities as well, so we can use our virtues.
We can never sow in the spirit if we do not know ourselves; and if we’ve never encountered ourselvesç we won’t know how to help carry the burden of the brother or sister as far as we can and or to endure. Everything is interconnected, self-knowledge is not self-sufficiency. We have know ourselves to love more, to sow more.
When we can walk in these three directions – carry the cross, sow love and look at ourselves and we assume our own responsibilities –, we can hear the voice of God and fulfill his purposes.
Alexandre Oliveira
Canção Nova Community mission