As perfect as we may try to be, we inevitably will fall into temptation and sin. When we do embrace the darkness and our own selflessness, it’s amazing how hard we try to hide from God. The light from God is so bright and pure that it is unnerving and uncomfortable for us who are dirty and used to the dark.
There is a good reason why some establishments don’t have very many windows. A casino wants us to focus our attention on the games inside. Lots of windows would allow us to see a beautiful world outside and we may consider other possibilities of things to do. Just as the casino tries to keep our attention inside, the devil wants us to stay in the darkness and not be able to see a way out. He wants us to despair and make us think that we aren’t worthy of a relationship with God.
In the Gospel for today, Simon Peter had been fishing with his other fisherman all morning and had caught nothing. Then Jesus came aboard the boat and instructed him to lower his nets in deep water. Sure enough, Simon caught so many fish that the boat was in danger of sinking.
How many times do we hide from God and do our own thing only to get nowhere? We think we know what to do, but our plans sometimes fail and we may get frustrated and depressed. When we seek out God and pray for guidance, we will find much success. God has a plan for each of us. Maybe we are right where we need to be and maybe God wants us to make a change. He will give us the inspiration to discover that change if one is needed.
We shouldn’t ever think we are unworthy of God’s love. Jesus hung around more sinners than righteous people because He wanted to bring those in darkness back to the light. If we cut God out of our life and don’t “look out the window”, we may never see the other possibilities He is calling us to do. No matter how good we think we are, the casino will win in the end if we stay inside. We need to walk out into the light to guarantee our success at life.
