Thursday, June 4, 2020

The divine in us

WE have to remind ourselves of the divine seed that is
planted in us so we can be more mindful of what such privilege
entitles us as well as of what it obliges us. The benefits it gives us
are tremendous, even if the duties and responsibilities it asks of us
are also huge.

            But it is always good to be keenly aware that we have
something divine in us, because that is how God created us. He made us
his image and likeness, and endowed us with spiritual powers that
would enable us to correspond to the spiritual and supernatural
reality of God.

            Besides, God always gives us his grace, a gratuitous
sharing of his divine life. It’s actually up to us to merit and make
use of that grace or not. Of course, it would be a pity if we fail to
do so.

            Let us strengthen our faith in the divine origin, pattern
and goal of our life. Remember what the Book of Proverbs says about
this fact: “My son, give me your heart and let your eyes observe my
ways.” (23,26) And from the Book of Isaiah, we hear God telling us:
“Do not be afraid because I have reclaimed you. I have called by name,
you are mine.” (43,1)

            While it’s true that we cannot overemphasize the burden of
our human weaknesses and limitations, made worse because of our sins,
it would be wrong if we would just focus on them and forget or take
for granted what that divine seed can give us.

            We have to be wary of our tendency to doubt this
fundamental truth of our faith, lest we also would receive this
reproach Christ gave to the crowd who followed him: “To what can I
compare this generation? They are like children sitting in the
marketplaces and calling out to others: ‘We played the pipe for you,
and you did not dance; we sang a dirge, and you did not mourn.’” (Mt
11,16-17)

            Let’s be careful with our tendency to justify our purely
weak condition, citing the excuse of “sapagkat kami ay tao lamang!” No
matter how undeserving we are of this divine privilege, we should
always hang on to it.

            Let’s remember that our humanity cannot be as it should be
unless it participates in the divine life of God. Even now, in the
midst of our earthly sojourn, marked with all kinds of mess, we can
and should already participate in that divine life.

            Such participation of the divine life, while still not
definitive, can already give us a lot of benefits. It certainly can
give us peace and joy. It will help us to persevere in the good even
as we would always be assailed by evil. It facilitates the development
of virtues so that little by little we would become more and more like
Christ.

            And even if we fall and commit all sorts of blunders, all
we have to do to recover is simply to go back to Christ, to God who is
always a merciful father to us. Christ will also show us how to handle
our earthly predicaments.

            Let us take care of this divine seed that God has planted
in us. For this, all we have to do is to follow Christ, who is “the
way, the truth and the life” for us. He is alive. He is not dead. And
he is very much in the intimacy of our being since he is precisely the
very pattern of our humanity and the savior of our damaged humanity.

            Even if we ignore him, even if we run away from him, even
if we go against him, he is willing to care and love us, to look for
us and to rescue us. He is ever eager to forgive us, willing even to
assume our sins if only for us to be with him!


No comments: