“Whatever God has promised gets stamped with the Yes of Christ Jesus. In him, this is what we preach and pray, the great Amen, God’s Yes and our Yes together, gloriously evident. God affirms us, making us a sure thing in Christ, putting his Yes within us. By his Spirit he has stamped us with his eternal pledge—a sure beginning of what he is destined to complete.” – 2 Corinthians 1. 20 – 22 (MSG)
Life has a way of saying No. We feel resisted. Things don’t always flow as we wish. There are roadblocks. Delays. Difficulties. It is normal to feel discouraged and even be tempted to give up…perhaps you even have.
An alternative arises. A different kind of Yes. Whatever has come against you in life as No, is perceived through the Yes of Christ in you. That Yes isn’t necessarily going to reward you like the Yes of life and culture. You may not get cured. You may not get wealthy. You may not get the promotion. But you will get Christ. And that makes all the difference in one’s experience of and in whatever might be occurring in your life. Christ is your hope of glory amidst the suffering.
Christ by the Spirit is the energy of Affirmation and Flourishing and Future, drawing us deeper and higher into the love of God. Christ is what we are being transformed into. Christ is, like the Eucharistic, an energetic field of nourishing Presence – inexplicable to the senses, yet totally sensual.
Life may not be a sure thing, but in Christ, you are. And this courageously draws forth your own Yes – to God, to others and to your self, even in the midst of all of the passing and more permanent No’s of life and life situations that we may encounter along the way.
As a practical application, perhaps notice how your thoughts and feelings manifest resistance or affirmation. See where you feel a No to God, to life or to another person, and invite Christ to transform that No into a Yes of love, forgiveness, peace and patience.
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