No Longer I

            “IT IS NO LONGER I WHO LIVE BUT CHRIST LIVES IN ME.” (Gal. 2:20)  This  statement of St. Paul in his letter to the Galatians had for some time caused me to ask myself how I could let Christ live in me, so that I would no longer live as I used to.  Reflecting on the scripture verse, I got a simple answer on the word: “ATTITUDE”.

            To let Christ live in me I must have His  ATTITUDE, namely:

1.    An Attitude of Humility:  I recall this verse in Philippians 2:5-7: “Let what was seen in Christ Jesus be seen in you.  Though being, divine in nature, he did not claim in fact equality with God, but emptied himself, taking on the nature of a servant, made in human likeness, and in his appearance found as a man.”   I must, therefore, be always aware of my status as a human being, fully dependent on God as my Creator.

2.    An Attitude of Service:  In Matthew 20: 28 Christ said: “The Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many.”.  To live this statement in my relationship with people I must put myself in the service of others rather than being served by them.

3.    An Attitude of Obedience:  In John 6:38 Christ vividly declared: “For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me.”   To have such obedience I have actually  prayed  time and again:  “Lord, here I am, I come to do Your will”,   trusting that God will constantly give me the grace to  attune myself to whatever He wants me to do.

4.    An Attitude of Availability:  From the Acts of the Apostles I am guided with Peter’s words: “You know of Jesus of Nazareth, how God anointed Him with the Holy Spirit and with power, and how He went about doing good, and healing all who were oppressed by the devil; for God was with Him.”  This clarified to me that Jesus did not wait for people to come to Him, but He went out to meet and help them in whatever way He can.  In like manner I should strive to make myself available by taking advantage of opportunities to meet people and offer whatever help I could extend to them.

            With Jesus’ examples  of humility, service, obedience and availability, I hope I could progressively emulate His attitudes  and thus succeed in making Him live in me.

by: Buddy Cagurangan

November 11, 2012