183. For Jesus to be known

Paul's letter to Timothy is a teaching to revisit. He tells him :
You, man of God, avoid all this. Instead, pursue righteousness, devotion, faith, love, patience, and gentleness.

“Compete well for the faith. Lay hold of eternal life, to which you were called when you made the noble confession in the presence of many witnesses.” 1 Timothy, chapter 6, verses 11 to 12

Are we capable of such a beautiful affirmation of faith before many witnesses? It is the foundation of evangelization: to stay in the good, the beautiful, the true, the real, in what is eternal, and to reveal it to our contemporaries. We want to reel in eternal life and stay there.

We’re invited to reflect on how we can affirm our faith before many witnesses. What meaning do we want to give to our faith life from day to day? What do we want the world to discover about faith? How are we to reveal the Love of God that swells in our heart?

We see in the world the many persecutions against christians or against other religions and its progressing, in different peoples and nations. People are persecuted and defending their faith without fail and with courage that certainly surpasses us.

We’re in an environment where faith in our God seems already acquired, but this false acquisition of faith left behind all sorts of complications and closed the possibilities of growing in God. What could we do while we still live in peace, to transmit, to sow signs of faith? What are the means we use for Jesus to be known to the world?

Faith in us must be in motion if we want to progress and hope for more joy and peace in the world. Let's run away from evil. It’s important to be on the move before we fall below the bar of what is unreasonable, and then have to fight to keep our faith in a world that thinks no longer having reasons to believe in God.

Jesus is looking for people to announce the good news, where they are. He wants us to participate. Only if the Good News is announced will we see the gifts of the Holy Spirit at work: joy, peace, love, etc., in the hearts of others.
The good news is that we are Loved by God and are called to live free, responsible and joyful until the resurrection with Jesus.

The new American Bible, 2011-2014
Book: Up! Let's go!, Normand Thomas