Our creation a work in progress

WE need to realize this fundamental truth about ourselves.

Our creation and redemption is a work in progress till death. Our

whole lifetime is the time in God’s eternity that is meant for this

purpose.

  

            In other words, up to this time, God in Christ with the

Holy Spirit is shaping and directing our life, is always interacting

with us, is showing us the way of how we ought to be, how we ought to

behave and react to all situations in our life, good or bad.

   

            It’s a pity that many of us do not realize this truth of

our faith and, therefore, fail to do our part in our own creation and

redemption. Remember St. Augustine lamenting about this fact. “You

were with me, but I was not with you.”

            He also said that “God created us without us, but he did

not will to save us without us.” These words imply that our creation

by God includes his work of our salvation. This truth of our faith has

basis on what St. Paul once said: “He who began a good work in you

will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus.” (Phil 1,6)

   

            We need to be aware that we therefore have to cooperate

with God in our own creation and redemption. In a sense, we are

co-creators and co-redeemers with God. This is precisely because God

created us in his image and likeness, and endowed us with the

spiritual faculties of intelligence and will that will enable us to be

elevated to the supernatural order.

  

            We therefore participate in the life and in the operations

of God in a very intimate way. While all creatures come from God and

belong to God, we, as human persons created in his image and likeness

and his adopted children, are meant to share in his life in a very

intimate way as well as to get involved in his operations.

              This is a truth of our faith that we need to process well

in our mind and heart so we can develop the proper attitude and

virtues. In every situation, let’s always remember that Christ is

actually showing us how to handle things, how to react to events, etc.

  

            We should never be just on our own. Our autonomy or

freedom should never be understood that we are just on our own, or

that God has nothing to do with us. Our freedom also comes from God

and can only be properly lived if lived with God and according to his

laws.

   

            In fact, we should always be trying not only to be in

constant presence of God but also to continually find and follow his

will. In this we have to exert determined effort as Christ himself

told us:

  

            “Ask and it shall be given you. Seek and you shall find.

Knock and it shall be opened to you. For everyone that asks receives.

And he that seeks finds. And to him that knocks, it shall be opened.”

(Mt 7,7-8)

             Let’s hope that we can develop the appropriate lifestyle

that would incorporate this understanding of this basic truth of our

faith that God continues to create and save us. We have to learn how

to interact with Christ continually, for he is “the way, the truth and

the life.”

             The “finished product” of our creation is when we truly

become another Christ, since we are patterned after him, the perfect

image God has of himself, and are redeemed by him, after that image

has been damaged by our sin.