Are you willing to get messy?

While sitting in church just listening to the chatter going on around me, I heard Father asking a woman, “Are you ready to get messy?” I did not hear the woman’s response. However, it made me think. Did Jesus and the Apostles know that their work was going to be messy? Did they know that having a relationship with God is downright messy?

The answer to the question becomes did we know that our relationship with God is going to be downright messy? Looking at all of the issues going on in the world, life is messy. We have a host of emotions that cloud our relationships. We have struggled. We have hurt. We have joys. Yet, our lives are not full of rainbows and butterflies. We need to go into the trenches and love people. We need to still show joy even when our own personal stuff is in the way.

Having a relationship with God is by no means easy. No relationship is easy. It takes work. Lots of work! The sad part is are we really willing to put in the work? Are we willing to take off the gloves and get dirty? I mean really get dirty. It is not an easy position to be in. A relationship with God requires work. It means that He gets more than an hour of my time a week. It means going to Reconciliation. It means sitting in Adoration for some time. More importantly, it means are we willing to serve Him and do his work? Many times our own will does not match God’s Will for us.

It is easier to give five dollars and allow someone else to feed the hungry. We pass it off as I gave money to the cause. However, did you get dirty with the cause? It is easier to tell our children later. It is easier to say when I have more time when I have more money, and the list goes on. However, God wants us to get dirty. God wants us to get really messy. He wants us to walk in the trenches helping the people that need us. God wants us to live the purpose that is doing His Will. So the question remains, are you willing to get messy?