Real life is the life that Jesus gives

"It is I who deal death and give life," (Deuteronomy 32:39).  "See, upon the mountains there advances the bearer of good news, announcing peace!" (Nahum 2:1-7) There’s no greater peace than to let God be totally in charge of our every decision, our understanding and our lack of understanding, our discovery of truth, and our life.

Jesus, who is the bearer of good news prophesied in Nahum, tells us: “Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me.  For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.” (Matthew 16:24-28) If we want to have peace and a good life, we have to give up trying to save ourselves and let God do it for us.

We’re way too inadequate to ensure our own happiness here on earth, let alone eternally in heaven! We don't understand what's going on, although we try to, and in our attempts to feel sure about our view of life, we believe in our own, limited perceptions… to our detriment.

If we could be transported in prayer, for even a moment, into eternity and see everything from heaven's perspective, we'd slap our foreheads and say, "Duh! How come I didn't realize that before?"

Only God sees the full picture, the true road to happiness and peace, and He never communicates it to us alone.  We're not smart enough to hear Him correctly all by ourselves.  We need the help of community: a spiritual director, Christian friends, a Confessor, and many others.  And then we need to trust the Holy Spirit to speak first to us in our hearts and then confirm it through others.

Trusting the Lord means accepting that we’re moronically stupid compared to His wisdom and knowledge.  We dare not trust our own ability to make right decisions without His guidance, nor can we trust our ability to correctly discern that guidance.  In the humility of that awareness, we open our lives to divine direction and intervention.

Real life is the life that Jesus gives.  It’s the life that comes from accepting that we can’t change the life we’re in; only He can do so, and only His transformation of it is meaningful.  So, take up the cross that is the burden of life and carry it; whether it’s the burden of the stifling heat we’re experiencing, the fears of Covid-19, social injustices, or the death of someone close to us—Jesus will transform the cross into new life and give us the only life that matters.