Everyone who listens to these words of mine and acts on them
will be like a wise man who built his house on rock.
The Tagalog words “po” and “opo” I would say, is unique to Filipinos for it may not have any direct counterpart in other languages. It shows respect to other people, whether that person is younger or older than you. So, even when conversing in English, the “po” or “opo” is still there – “Thank you, po!”, “Opo, I will be there.”
However, lately, the essence of using them is being lost in how the respondent use them. Sometimes, my son would say “Opo, I will go to sleep na!” in a somewhat angry fashion, since he is still watching a TV show. Or my daughter would yell, “Andyan na, po!”, since she is still busy chatting with her friends. They just became “ornamental” words, and lost its true meaning, that is, respect and commitment.
The same is true in our relationship with Jesus. He explicitly exclaimed that not everyone who says “Lord, Lord” will enter the kingdom of heaven. That for most who will say “Did we not do mighty deeds in your name?”, he would declare “depart from me for I do not know you.” Jesus will look on how we act on our belief and faith. He will look on how we use whatever we learned from Him in helping ourselves seek heaven and follow the will of the Lord. He will look on how we use His words so others may be saved. He will look on how we build His love solidly in our hearts so we can help others build theirs. It is not just saying “po” or “opo” but truly giving the respect and commitment that He and others deserves.
Let our action, and not just words, do the talking. Let it become our spiritual foundation which is solid as a rock, so in the face of temptations, “it will not collapse.” Words without action are nothing as faith without action is dead.
Lord Jesus, You are our foundation to whom we build our lives. Teach us to build the same foundation in the lives of others. If we have to dig further in our hearts to find that rocky foundation, may we do it so that our faith in You will last forever, in the midst of all trials, difficulties and temptations in our lives. For Your words alone is the truth and obeying Your words and acting on them is the wisest thing to do.
Lord, be my rock of safety.
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