June 30, 2003

 "Getting the Information from Him"

Satan comes against us because we are simply trying to do whatever God says.  Our Lady's, "Do whatever He tells you" (Jn 2:5) began to make more sense to me.  She is saying, "Don't be questioning what He says all the time.  Don't be saying "Mañana" or making excuses.  Just do whatever He says."  That word, whatever, can get a little scary because we never know what God is going to do with that "whatever" when we are totally at His disposal.  This is where Satan comes into our lives with the temptation to try to get us not to do "whatever."

It all began in the Garden (see Gen 3).  It seemed like an ambush happened when Satan was tempting Eve.  He knew that she was not to eat from the tree in the center, and it is interesting the way he knew-she told him!  It is interesting how we can dialogue with the enemy.  I didn't realize the information that we sometimes give him.  God had told Adam and Eve, "You may eat of the fruit of any of the trees except the one in the middle."  And so Satan comes along and says, "Oh, did God say that you cannot eat from any of the trees?"  He didn't have all the information.  Satan doesn't know a lot of things.  He is limited.  He doesn't know that inner dialogue that goes on with God deep within our hearts.  Satan didn't know that intimacy between Adam and Eve and the Lord.  But Eve said, "Oh no.  God didn't say that.  God said we can eat from all the fruit trees except one."  Now Satan has his information and that is where the attack came.  That is where God's word was, and so he was going to try to get her to go against it, and as we all know, he was quite successful.

It is interesting that that one tree happened to be the tree that really would give them wisdom and knowledge.  It would let them know what was good and what was not.  In our terminology we call that tree a tree of discernment.  That tree gives the light of which way to go.  "Do I choose this, or do I choose that?  Which is from God and which isn't?  Which is good, but which is better?"  I was really confused about that when I began to ponder this Scripture.  I said, "Lord, I thought You wanted us to be like You.  I thought You wanted us to have discernment.  I thought You wanted us to know how to choose because we are children of the Light.  You don't want us to stumble in the dark."

Then He let me understand that He wants us to have good discernment, but He doesn't want us to get it on our own.  He said this is what sin is all about-trying to do things independently of Him.  He wants us to come to Him for everything that we need to know, and in His light and truth, we will be able to make the choices that He is choosing.  I found out that discernment really isn't me deciding.  Discernment is trying to find out what God has already decided, what His plan is, and then accepting His plan saying, "Yes, Lord."  He wants us to know, but He wants us to know from Him.  He wants us to get the information from Him.

I have spoken about this many times to our own community because many of them are spiritual directors and are in ministry.  If people ask you a question and you don't know, don't be afraid to say, "I don't know, but I know the One who does know.  I can find out."  That's what a child would do.  Children know they don't know.  They aren't afraid to go to someone who does know and ask.  So obviously God is constantly reminding us that we really and truly are children.  That's how He sees us.

Children are so pure of heart.  A pure heart is a discerning heart.  A pure heart, a childlike heart, is always moving from the unknown to the known.  It is always moving from the darkness into the light.  And so this is what God is saying to us, "Come to Me for all that you need to know, and I will give you that light because you are My children.  I am Light, and you are children of My Light.  I do not want you to make wrong choices.  I do not want you to stumble in the dark." 

Excerpt from Mother Nadine's, "The Mystery of Prayer: Discernment and Sin," Denver, CO, 2002.