BECOMING CHRIST-LIKE

Return to God’s word. Allow it to transform you. Notice how your faith is being deepened and your way of life motivated.

COMMENTS

So now comes the part where I need to take the word given to me and put it into practice! That is always the hardest and the most frustrating. How long have I have been dealing with this same darkness? How do I believe that it is limited? I guess my answer lies where I direct my gaze. Do I continue to look at myself in the shadow, dissatisfied with my lack of progress? Or do I look to the One who also experienced darkness for a limited time? Jesus suffered on the cross from noon until three. Even while the “sun’s light failed,” he forgave others and gave hope to the thief. Through it all, he trusted the Father with his spirit.

 To me this says that I don’t have to be out of darkness in order to be forgiving and encouraging Even before I see the pure blue of heaven or my situation resurrected, I can trust God to limit my time of darkness, just as God did for Jesus.

So on this fourth day of Lent, I have faith (which is a gift from God) that God will be with me every moment. When I feel the darkness creeping in, I will believe that even here God is pouring love out upon me. I will answer God’s call to come forth out of the shadow and not be frustrated with my progress. Knowing that I am loved, I will offer God’s love to others in shadow, encouraging them to hope and to trust in the loving God who limits darkness.

Kathy Janku

© Crucifixion, Donald Jackson, 2002. The Saint John’s Bible, Order of Saint Benedict, Collegeville, Minnesota. Scripture quotations are from the New Revised Standard Version of the Bible, Catholic Edition, © 1993, 1989 National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.