I once read a manga (Japanese comic books, for those of you who don't know) in which the main character, a ten year old boy wizard from England, was sent to be a teacher in Japan. The main focus of the story was his trying to become a good teacher and at the same time become a stronger wizard so he could find his father, who everyone thought had died ten years before the story takes place. The boy becomes stronger, and at one point in the story acquires a special power to be able to fight even the strongest of enemies, but with his new power comes a lot of pain and suffering.
However, one of the main themes throughout the entire manga is that no matter what hardships the boy faces, he ends up defeating them, learning from them, growing and improving from them. He meets and grows with both old and new companions, many who share in his sufferings because they help him so much, and they help to make him stronger to reach his goal; they all stride forward together, and in the end he finds his father and rescues him.
There was something the boy's master once told him that really shows this theme; "You must continue moving forward, even if you're covered in mud." Even though the boy experiences extremely painful hardships, he gets up and lives through all of them, continuing to fight and persevere through everything to get to his goal.
St. Paul writes "But we also exult in our tribulations, knowing that tribulation brings about perseverance; and perseverance, proven character; and proven character, hope; and hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us." (Romans 5:3-5) We all experience some form of suffering in our lives, some form of trials and tribulations, something or someone that has, does, or will cause us pain. Maybe we have a crisis of faith, or a loved one dies, or we had a bad breakup, or we have a disorder or affliction that makes life tough for us. Oftentimes it's the small things we get anxious about or fight about or screw up or think we've screwed up. We often run away from things that might cause us pain and suffering, and they are certainly not good in an of themselves! However, our trials, our tortures, our pains and sufferings can produce good if we let God help us with them, help us run, walk, and even sometimes crawl, bruised and bloody, through the mud of the world.
My point is that, no matter what comes our way, we know we can persevere in Christ our Lord, just as He persevered "even to death on a Cross" (Philippians 2:8). God made us in His image, with His intellect and will, and the will He's given us must be used to fight through everything. This faith we have lets us persevere to search for our loving God, even if it's been a long time since we've been with Him or talked to Him or even thought about Him. Our hearts are designed to fight for what we love, to move through the muck and mud of the world, of sin, of fear and anxiety, of despair, even when we feel like the darkness covers us completely, onward to our God, the One Who pulls us out of the mud into His merciful, joyful arms.
So may we all have faith, hope, and love always, to fight for all three, to fight through our sufferings, finding our power in Christ, striding forward with all of our companions that we meet along the way, and finally reaching the goal of God Himself. We are made to fight, and in Christ we can, even, or rather, especially on our crosses.
My point is that, no matter what comes our way, we know we can persevere in Christ our Lord, just as He persevered "even to death on a Cross" (Philippians 2:8). God made us in His image, with His intellect and will, and the will He's given us must be used to fight through everything. This faith we have lets us persevere to search for our loving God, even if it's been a long time since we've been with Him or talked to Him or even thought about Him. Our hearts are designed to fight for what we love, to move through the muck and mud of the world, of sin, of fear and anxiety, of despair, even when we feel like the darkness covers us completely, onward to our God, the One Who pulls us out of the mud into His merciful, joyful arms.
So may we all have faith, hope, and love always, to fight for all three, to fight through our sufferings, finding our power in Christ, striding forward with all of our companions that we meet along the way, and finally reaching the goal of God Himself. We are made to fight, and in Christ we can, even, or rather, especially on our crosses.
