You Already Imitate Christ

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Holy Week is a time to commemorate and marvel at the power of Christ’s unconditional and self-giving love for all people – His immense, unequivocal, and eternal love for you. 

Christ’s love is uniform and widespread; all people are included. Now, He commands you to do the same: Love your neighbor as yourself, do good to those who hate you, forgive those who hurt you, and pray for those who mistreat you (see Luke 6). While the task to follow Him may be daunting, here are a few examples of how you already do it:

When you’re up in the middle of the night holding a crying child when you need to sleep, you follow Christ:

“No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends” (John 15:13).  

When you hold your tongue instead of lashing out when someone criticizes or mocks you, you imitate Christ:

“And when he was accused by the chief priests and elders, he gave no answer” (Matthew 27:12).

When you help someone without judging whether they’re worthy, you imitate Christ:

“If I, therefore, the master and teacher, have washed your feet, you ought to wash one another's feet” (John 13:14).

When you forgive someone, you imitate Christ:

“He said to her, ‘Your sins are forgiven.’” (Luke 7:48).

When you befriend the ostracized, love the addict, visit the prisoner, or feed the homeless, you follow Christ: 

“Amen, I say to you, whatever you did for one of these least brothers of mine, you did for me” (Matthew 25:40).

Also, the events of Good Friday assure us that Christ will always forgive us. We’re to do the same:  

“The other (criminal), however, rebuking him, said in reply, ‘Have you no fear of God, for you are subject to the same condemnation? And indeed we have been condemned justly, for the sentence we received corresponds to our crimes, but this man has done nothing criminal.’ Then he said, ‘Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.’ He replied to him, ‘Amen, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise’” (Luke 23:40-43).

Christ commands us to love everyone. He’s shown us how to give of ourselves, especially to those we find most difficult to love. You’ve probably already done so, as in the examples above. Ask Him for the grace to continue. Then, pay attention to the sense of peace He gives you when you do these things. His peace and His joy are how He’ll reward you. 

 “I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and your joy may be complete”

(John 15:11).

May you take time this Holy Week to grasp Christ’s eternal love for you, and may this love inspire you to imitate Him more each day.

“How shall I make a return to the Lord for all the good He has done for me?” 

– Psalm 116:12

“Lord, I want to love as You do.”

Thank you for reading my reflection. © 2024 Gina Bedell     Comments are always welcome! 

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P.S.

Pray for peace in Ukraine, Russia, the Middle East, and around the world. Donate toward a cause that tugs at your heart. Take care of those around you; take care of our planet. Pray for the families around the globe whose lives have been torn apart by war and natural disasters.

Gratitude Lightens Our Burdens

They say that if we tossed our troubles onto a pile with our neighbors’ problems and then had the opportunity to take whatever we wanted, we would all choose to take back our own struggles over those of our neighbors. Maybe that’s because, while our challenges are burdensome, they are also familiar to us. 

Our sufferings are real, and life seems full of them. Our current problem may be so oppressive that it’s like a hand being held right in front of our eyes, blocking our view of everything else. If we mentally step aside for a moment, though, and move away from that blocked view, we would see that, even with this burden, we still can find much to be grateful for. This gratitude helps us handle our challenges. 

We can be grateful for our magnificent bodies, with the intricate workings of cells, organs, and systems that function without any effort from us! Even when we’re faced with illness or injury, while we’re taking steps to help our body heal or adapt we can still gratefully think, feel, do, and live! 

You are not a mere product of science or chance! Everything about you was deliberately created by God. You have skills and talents. You may not think yours are anything special, but your gifts are not exactly the same as anyone else’s, and your unique personality shapes how you use them. 

Look outside yourself and consider with gratitude your family, friends, and acquaintances. They are gifts for you, and you are gifts for them! Think of all the happy memories you’ve created together, challenges you’ve conquered together, things you’ve learned from each other, and how you’ve made life sweeter for each other just by being yourselves. 

Look with gratitude at your home, your clothes, and your possessions. Look with awe at the natural world around you. From the food that grows to the stars that capture our imagination, God created all of it for us to enjoy, marvel at, and learn from. 

Finally, consider God’s intangible gifts like laughter that eased your pain; strength that got you through a tough challenge; and answers to your prayers, even when you didn’t get the answer you’d hoped for. You’re grateful for all of it because you know that God does everything out of His love for you. Your gratitude reassures you that He will help you with your current challenge, too.

How do we show our appreciation for all God has done for us?  We take care of our bodies the best we can. We care for each other and cherish our time together. We share our time, talents, and possessions. We use the blessings of nature responsibly. 

We consider the wonders of all His gifts and pray from the heart: ‘‘Thanks.” 

“How shall I make a return to the Lord for all the good He has done for me?” 

– Psalm 116:12

“Lord, open my eyes to fully appreciate all that You’ve done for me.”

Thank you for reading my reflection. © 2023 Gina Bedell     Comments are always welcome! 

Please share this with your friends by clicking on one of the icons below. Blogspot doesn’t have a ‘subscribe’ feature and so I appreciate your help in sharing my reflections. Thanks!

If you or someone you know would like to receive these writings directly to your inbox, please email me at ginabedell1@gmail.com and I will add you to my ‘BCC’ email list.

p.s.

We continue to pray for an end to the war. If you’d like to help the people of Ukraine through the Cleveland Maidan Association, you may use either PayPal or a credit/debit card here:

https://www.paypal.com/donate/...