"You say, ‘I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.’ But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked. I counsel you to buy from Me gold refined in the fire, so you can become rich; and white clothes to wear, so you can cover your shameful nakedness; and salve to put on your eyes, so you can see" (Revelation 3:17-18).
Our Father, keep us from spiritual arrogance and complacency. Keep us from the deadly pride that prevents us from understanding our desperate need of Your mercy and grace. We are blind apart from Your vision, naked apart from Your covering, destitute apart from Your providence.
Forgive us O God, for filling our lives with the treasures of this world, thinking we "have acquired wealth and do not need a thing." Forgive us for trying to "gain the whole world" and endangering our souls in the process (Mark 8:36). Forgive us for turning the gifts you graciously provide into instruments of selfishness and idols of the heart.
Thank You Lord, that You are able to fill the empty spaces we try to stuff with acquisitions. Thank You that by Your wounds we are healed. You provide salve for our "long" eyes and satisfaction for our thirsty souls (Isaiah 55:1-2). Heal lukewarm hearts. Heal hearts of stone. Heal blind eyes. Be our vision.
Riches I heed not, nor vain, empty praise;
Thou mine inheritance, now and always;
Thou and thou only first in my heart,
High King of heaven, my treasure Thou art.
~Be Thou My Vision~ Dallán Forgaill (c. 560 – 640)
Translated by Mary Elizabeth Byrne, 1905
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