“Thy will be done.” These words are probably as familiar to us as our own names. For most of us, we began reciting these four simple words almost as early as that we have learned to speak However, the problem with familiarity is that as words fade from our rote languages, we lose sight of what they really mean. our own need to surrender our will, to surrender our desires to God's will. This is a difficult concept to understand, because. Our American culture celebrates the independent spirit. are the product of the 19th century doctrine of manifest destiny, a philosophy that propelled America's expansion "from sea to shining sea. We believe we can accomplish just about anything if we set our minds to it." a virtuous goal and, with unwavering determination, let us work hard to achieve this goal. In the language of today's motivators, we simply need "courage" to achieve it. plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an original essay Although being strong-willed and fiercely independent are traits that can serve us in this world, they do not serve us well with God. In this morning's reading to the Philippians, St. Paul says to the Philippians: “Let each of you look not to his own interests, but to those of others. » Reading these words from Paul, deep inside me, I hear the sports coach reminding his players “There is no me on the team”. This is not far from what Paul is trying to convey to his readers. He tells us that there is no self in God. Later in his letter, Paul reiterates this when he writes: “Leave in you the same mind that was in Christ. Jesus, who, although he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God as something to be exploited, but emptied himself, taking the form of a slave , being born in the image of man. » In essence, Paul calls us to this. live our lives as imitators of Christ, as if we, like Christ, shared one spirit with God. Although the Church teaches that Jesus was both fully human and fully divine, I believe that what made Jesus fully divine was his choice to sublimate his will to that of God. Although he had the free will to choose between total obedience to God's will or satisfying his own will, Jesus chose the path consistent with "Thy will be done." He accomplished this despite his own inner struggle, even though it led to his death. It was not an easy path to take. On the night of Jesus' arrest, Matthew gives us insight into Jesus' struggle when he records Jesus' prayer in the book. Garden of Gethsemane: “My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from me; not what I want, but what you want. » This is what we mean when we pray: “thy will be done.” It is as if we wanted to join Jesus in the garden and offer ourselves fully, our soul and our body, to the will of God. What is being asked of us is the impossible. Living in full obedience to God requires that we be fully perfect like Jesus. Fortunately, Paul gives us a way out. He does not call us to BE Christ, but to IMITATE the love of Christ. He asks us to abandon our selfish desires; somehow better than us; realize that everything that has been given to us comes from the grace of God. It takes a lifetime to become a good imitator of Christ. It is the process of what Lamartine Luther often calls the only way to obtain. you literally have to “pretend,..”