With the strength of Christ

THERE’S no question that we all have to be strong and

tough in our life. To survive, to face and tackle all the challenges,

that is what is needed. If we are weak, we simply would be swept away

with the slightest difficulty we meet.

  

            We just have to understand that the strength we need is

not just something physical or emotional or intellectual. While these

kinds of strength have their role to play, we should aim at developing

and achieving the strength that comes from Christ.

  

            It is this strength that made St. Paul gush: “I can do all

things through Christ who strengthens me.” (Phil 4,13) It was this

strength that enabled him in any and all circumstances to learn the

secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and want.

   

            To be sure, this strength is the strength of love that is

the very essence of Christ. It is this kind of love that, as St. Paul

again said, “bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things,

endures all things.” (1 Cor 13,7)

  

            We have to aspire for this kind of strength. It is this

strength that knows how to be weak for the sake of the weak, and to

how to be all things to all men if only to save some.

  

            This strength of Christian love will certainly require us,

with God’s grace, to go beyond our natural and infranatural

conditionings. These conditionings will always be with us, but we

should try our best that we do not get completely trapped by them.

  

            That is why we have to be ready to make sacrifices and

self-denials, as Christ himself has told us if we want to follow him.

(cfr. Mt 16,24) The cross will always be needed by us so we can go

beyond our natural and infranatural limitations and conditionings to

enter into the supernatural life of God.

  

            This cross can come to us in different ways and forms. It

can be a sickness, a physical inconvenience, some emotional and

psychological pains, a problem in the family, our differences and

conflicts with others, a crisis in one’s professional life, a failure

in business, etc.

  

            If borne with Christ, these crosses would unleash the

power of the redemptive love of Christ. We can echo from our heart the

same words of St. Paul—that we can do all things through Christ who

strengthens us.

  

            In this regard, inspired by faith in God, we just have to

be game in the drama of our life, taking things in stride, whether

they are good or bad. In this way, we can live out what St. Paul

himself experienced.

  

            “We are treated as impostors,” he said, “and yet are true;

as dying, and behold we live; as punished, and yet not killed; as

sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; as poor, yet making many rich; as

having nothing, and yet possessing everything.” (2 Cor 6,8-10)

  

            There is a certain kind of immunity to any kind of

difficulty when we have the love of Christ. We should just focus on

drowning evil with an abundance of good in this world, not afraid of

anything.

  

            Everyday, let us try to grow, no matter how little, in the

strength of Christ’s love. We are always given a chance to do this by

the events and concerns of our daily life. We should so face them

squarely with Christ that at the end of the day, we can say, “I can do

all things through Christ who strengthens me.”