We are light-bearers

By Fr. Roy Cimagala

WE have to be more aware of this great responsibility of ours if we are to be consistent with our Christian identity. We should not be shy or afraid to show our Christian identity to everyone. Let’s show it in such a way as to inspire others to follow and love Christ.

Christ himself told his disciples: “No one who lights a lamp conceals it with a vessel or sets it under a bed; rather, he places it on a lampstand so that those who enter may see the light.” And he continued: “For there is nothing hidden that will not become visible, and nothing secret that will not be known and come to light.”

To top it all, he said that depending on whether we fulfill or fail to carry out this duty, there definitely would be serious consequences, for this is what Christ said in this regard: “To anyone who has, more will be given, and from the one who has not, even what he seems to have will be taken away.” (cfr. Lk 8,16-18)

And so, we just have to be more aware of this most important duty that is actually incumbent on everyone of us, and not just on some special people. We know that we are all interrelated, obviously not biologically that only has a limited scope, but definitely to a large extent, politically, economically, socially, etc. The fact that we all live in the same one world somehow makes us all interrelated.

But there’s actually a more radical basis of our interrelation. And that is that we are all creatures of God, children of his, meant to be the people and the family of God. It is a relationship that is spiritual more than material, forged by a supernatural principle and not just something natural.

This basic truth about ourselves gives rise to the duty that we have to help one another spiritually more than anything else. It is in our spiritual bond that actually gives rise to all our other relations with everybody else according to the different aspects of our nature.

This is what is meant by our duty to inspire others. Etymologically, the word ‘inspire’ means to breathe into. And it definitely is not only air that we should breathe into others. We have to breathe a spirit that in the end is nothing other than the spirit of God, who is the original inspirator.

Obviously, we have to see to it that that we inspire others properly. And by that, we mean that the spirit we ‘breathe into’ the others even by our mere presence or by our words and deeds, should be the spirit of God.

And so, the question to ask ourselves at the end of the day is whether in all our dealings and transactions, the effect of the spirit of God which is charity was made, that is, that we managed to inspire, motivate and edify others.

Inspiring, motivating and edifying others are certainly not a result of a mere gimmick or ploy, a fruit of one’s intelligence and cleverness alone. These can only happen when we are vitally united with God whose essence is love. These are primarily a spiritual affair, driven by divine love.

Thus, when we say that the others should be left inspired, motivated and edified by us in all our dealings, we need to understand that we achieve those goals always in Christ, with God’s grace, and not just by our own human powers, though all these human powers should also be harnessed at the instance of grace.

Email: roycimagala@gmail.com