Do not offer any part of yourself to sin as an instrument of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer every part of yourself to him as an instrument of righteousness. Romans 6:13
“The instruments of good works: In the first place to love the Lord God with the whole heart, the whole soul, the whole strength. Then, one’s neighbor as one’s self…To deny one’s self in order to follow Christ…To hold one’s self aloof from worldly ways…To prefer nothing to the love of Christ…Not to forsake charity…To love one’s enemies, Not to curse them that curse us, but rather to bless them…To put one’s trust in God…To keep a constant watch over the actions of our life…To guard one’s tongue against bad and wicked speech…To honor the aged…To love the younger…To pray for one’s enemies in the love of Christ…To never to despair of God’s mercy.
Behold, these are the instruments of the spiritual art, which, if they have been applied without ceasing day and night and approved on judgment day, will merit for us from the Lord that reward which He hath promised: “The eye hath not seen, nor the ear heard, neither hath it entered into the heart of man, what things God hath prepared for them that love Him” (1 Corinthians 2:9). But the workshop in which we perform all these works with diligence is the enclosure of the monastery, and stability in the community.”
Benedict of Nursia (480-543) in an excerpt from The Rule of St. Benedict IV (Grand Rapids: CCEL).
Benedict wrote his rule to essentially answer the question: What does it mean to follow Jesus in the sixth century in Nursia? While many people grow up in homes, the monastery was the place where people would go to learn to live in the way of Jesus with others. That included those who had no home life or who wanted to do the Christian life in community.
Today I want to honor my father and all fathers out there who seek to live as instruments of good works. God will reward each one of us, fathers, for loving the Lord God with all our heart, soul, and strength, for keeping constant watch over the actions of our lives, for not forsaking charity, and for so many other good things. Honor the aged and love the younger today.
Stand fast, fathers, and stay the course as instruments of good works!