Becoming a follower of Christ is difficult. He demands our everything and even our suffering. But it is the only way we can make our way to the heavenly kingdom – by making sacrifices, bearing our burdens with patience and walking with Christ to Calvary.
Faith does not entail fearlessness. It is proceeding on a journey set by God despite all our fears as we combat them, relying completely and absolutely upon Him, our Lord and Savior, to guide us, hold us and even cradle us in the safety and warmth of His love, until the end of our sojourn.
To mature spiritually, every Christian must weather the storms of life, seeking refuge and entrusting all to God. It is only faith like that of a child, humble and total, that will allow us to pass the tests that must refine us and prepare us for heaven.
The feast of the Transfiguration is an invitation to keep our own ambitions and desires aside to allow God’s will to manifest fully in us. This will transform us into true Christ followers, reflecting His love and glory, even within our limited human capacity.
The Transfiguration of Christ is a message to us that unless we reflect God’s countenance, we cannot bring Christ to people who truly need Him: the poor, the sick, the hungry. While we recognize suffering Christ in our brethren, we should represent the compassionate Christ to them.
The joy or initial rush of enthusiasm we sense at conversion must continue as we grapple with future hurdles. We have to pick ourselves up every time we fall, every time we meet with trials set for our own spiritual edification, to at last earn the true joy of attaining the kingdom of heaven.
When we are granted the grace of understanding the worth of heaven, as a gift or by working toward it, we recognize the value of the kingdom of heaven and are ready to give up all for it. While toiling for our Lord, we understand that the good and the bad must coexist on earth, both deserving of Christian compassion, until the final judgement.
That good and evil exist in this world together is a reality. Instead of fixating on uprooting the evil in the world, we need to allow God’s will to unfold in its fullness and focus on uprooting the evil within us.
In his impatience, man attempts to root out evil altogether, forgetting that evil and good exist in the same space. But God waits patiently until the weeds can be removed without hurting the good crop, and the end result is the fulfilment of God’s plan for His kingdom.
We must necessarily work on our spiritual lives and not just attempt to improve the material aspect of our lives. In doing so, we will follow the Lord as He wants us to and transform the world as well.