Christ Jesus, help me live well the challenges of life...

 
Mark 8:27-33                                                              
 
It is obvious that for anyone, life will present its challenges both great and small. But what to do with them and why? Jesus lived through some of the most severe challenges a man has ever had to face. As a reward for healing the masses and revealing the Good News of God’s Kingdom to the crowds, he was captured, tortured and crucified –and lived his life and death well, with both dignity and strength. The result of Jesus’ living through seemingly evil circumstances was that His merciful obedience transformed these brutal realities into the marvellous and enduring Grace of God. Jesus knew this; it is understandable, then, that when Peter tried to ‘fix’ the evils Jesus revealed about his near future and prevent them from happening to his Master, Jesus strongly chastised him and called out Satan’s play for comfort, peace and security. By proceeding to live well his obedience, suffering and even death, Jesus showed all of humankind how to live well the challenges of life so that they can be transformed from darkness into light, from death into life, and from despair into divine redemption. When challenges present themselves, do I live them well, as Jesus did, or, like Peter, and Satan who prompted him, do I try with all my being to avert them? Christ Jesus, help me live well the challenges of life.
 
God looked at the earth to hear the groans of the prisoners, to set free those who were doomed to die. (Psalm 102:20)
 
The man [or woman] of the true religious tradition understands two things: liberty and obedience. The first means knowing what you really want. The second means knowing what you really trust.
GK Chesterton
 
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Soli ad gloriam Dei