On the sea of glass were standing
those who had won the victory…and they sang the song of Moses, the servant of
God and the song of the Lamb: "Great and wonderful are your works, Lord
God almighty. (Revelation 15:2-3)
Those standing on the sea of glass who had won the victory and remained
faithful to "The mind of Christ” are the ones not dead but wear the crown
of life.
I want to be one of those standing on the “sea of glass”. Those are the saints in Heaven. God bless her, Lily often tells me she thinks
I’m going to be a saint. I remind her whenever
she says that, that I’m far from it right now.
But am I, really?
I sometimes feel "martyred", not to the point of death, but
very worn-down spiritually. Some days it
seems like everything I hear, see and do just tries to block my belief in
Christ and take me down the wrong path. Those are the days filled with
frustrations and I just want to wrap the scriptures around my head and wear it
like a crown.
Pope Francis said recently, “Martyrdom of blood is not the only
way to witness to Jesus Christ. . . . There is everyday martyrdom: the
martyrdom of honesty, the martyrdom of patience in raising children; the
martyrdom of fidelity to love, when it is easier to take another, more hidden
path” (Address, June 18, 2016).
Every time we make a choice for someone else over ourselves, we
have won a victory. Every time we cooperate with God’s grace instead of giving
in to temptation, we have won a victory. We may not see it, but God is shaping our
character. He is making us a witness to his power. And he is giving us the
victory.
“By your perseverance you will secure your lives.” (Luke 21:19)
We just have to persevere: “Lord, help me to be humble, simple,
and willing to follow you no matter how ordinary life may seem.”
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