WE have to
strongly and frequently remind ourselves that
we are supposed to be another Christ, who as the Son of
God, the
perfect image that God has of himself, is the pattern of
our humanity,
and who as the God-made-man, is the redeemer of our
damaged humanity.
We have to do
everything to achieve that goal, that ideal,
for which Christ has already given us everything. In
fact, he has
given his own self, and not just some means.
We need to be
truly Christian, going beyond just being
Christian by name, nor even just being a Christian
performer or actor
or scholar, quite active in church activities and
knowledgeable about
Christian doctrine. Much less should we be contented with
being a
Christian caricature.
We have to have
the mind and heart of Christ, his very own
spirit which is given to us this time in the Holy Spirit,
such that
while we can say that we are so-and-so as our personal,
individual
identity, we can also say with conviction that we are
another Christ.
Our human
identity, let us remember, is not complete
unless it is merged with the identity of Christ. And this
is possible
and achievable because in the first place Christ wants it
that way.
“You are mine,” we read in the Book of Isaiah (43,1),
underlining the
fact that as a creature of God, we cannot be without our
Creator and
Savior.
That is why God
continues to beg us to be with him. “My
son, give me your heart and let your eyes delight in my
ways,” we read
in the Book of Proverbs. (23,26) Are we aware of this
divine plea and
are we doing something about it?
We should try
our best to exercise our faith to the hilt,
the faith that God himself gives us. We have to be guided
by our faith
more than anything else so that we can have not only an
encounter with
God through Christ in the Holy Spirit, but also to enter
into vital
union with him, such that God and us become one.
This is no pipe
dream. It’s true, of course, that while
this ideal will only be definitively achieved in heaven,
it is also
true that it has to be pursued earnestly, without let-up,
while here
on earth. It can be done. It should be done, what with
all the
resources Christ has made available for this purpose.
When we have
the mind and heart of Christ, we would know
how to understand everyone and everything, and would be
willing, like
Christ, to bear whatever burden there is in our relation
with others.
We would know how to be patient, compassionate and
merciful. Anger,
envy and pride would be far from us.
We would prefer
to suffer and even die than to compromise
our charity. That would the real mark of one who is truly
identified
with Christ. We would be full of charity. We may have
defects and
still commit some mistakes, but our charity stays and is
lived
abidingly.
Everyday let us
craft a plan or strategy to keep our vital
identification with Christ a reality. This is not falling
into some
kind of psychological complex, since if we truly try to
be another
Christ, Christ himself will be the first one to make us
humanly simple
and humble.
We need to feel
at home with this basic truth of our faith
that our very consciousness should have Christ as its
essential
constituent. We have to learn to live this identity with
naturalness,
one that includes the eminently spiritual and
supernatural character
of our life.
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