SAINT AUGUSTINE ZHAO RONG, PRIEST, AND COMPANIONS, MARTYRS (OPTIONAL MEMORIAL)

No disciple is above his teacher, no slave above his master. 

Most of us—probably even you!—don’t like being told what to do. We resist even the idea of coming under someone’s authority. We want to make our own rules. As a result, the idea that God is our master seems too rigid and harsh. It can make us think of him as someone who only sets rules and punishes wrongdoings.

But that’s not who God is. We need to see him as he truly is—as a “master” whose authority we can trust and rely on (Matthew 10:24). Here are three of God’s character traits that make it clear why we would want to make him the Lord of our lives.

First, if we believe that God is all-loving and all-powerful, we will discover a sense of freedom and relief. He is God, and we are not. That means we don’t have to do everything perfectly. It also means that we don’t have to fix everything and everyone around us. We can just try our best to serve him and the people around us, and then peacefully leave the rest in his hands.

Second, recognizing that God is the ultimate source of all our blessings can lead us to a position of gratitude and humility. We see how freely he has given us his gifts and graces, and that can move us to want to be just as generous to the people around us. In other words, it can move us, his “disciples,” to become like our “teacher” (Matthew 10:25).

Third, the more we understand that our heavenly Father is the giver of mercy, the easier it becomes to obey his challenging call to forgive “seventy-seven times” (Matthew 18:22). Humbly repenting and receiving his forgiveness can soften our hearts and help us follow our Master in the way of mercy.

Of course, we should try to be more like God—but we shouldn’t try to be God. That only leads to trouble and heartache. Instead, we should accept him as our loving Father and trust that he will take care of us. After all, he only wants what’s best for us.

“Father, you are perfect love and mercy. Lord, I give myself to you!”

Isaiah 6:1-8
Psalm 93:1-2, 5
Matthew 10:24-33