… so that it is no longer I who live, but it is Christ who lives in me. This life that I live now, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave his life for me. Galatians 2:20, GNT

 

Years ago, when I was still at school, we had a youth meeting of our church. Our minister asked what we would grab first if our house were to catch fire. Piously, we answered, “Our Bible.”

 

If you ask a group of people what the most important word is in their vocabulary, you would probably end up with a lot of widely divergent answers. Like the example of the young people at the youth meeting, many people will choose something like love, care or charity because they feel that this is what other people would expect them to say, but it might not be true of them at all.

 

If we are honest with ourselves, the most important word is ‘I’ or ‘ME’ in capital letters. Some of the first words that children learn are I, self or mine. And this, unfortunately, stays with us for our whole lives. I know many of us will fiercely reject such a view, but as I said, let us be honest. The Mother Teresas amongst us are very scarce.

 

But it need not stay with us our whole lives. Words like love, care and charity, along with many other positive attributes, may become part of our vocabulary. It can become part of our lives, for it is “no longer I who live, but it is Christ who lives in me” and “the Son of God, loved me and gave his life for me”.

 

When Christ lives in me, there is no room for my inflated ego. Just listen to what Paul said when he spoke of the life that we live. It is not a life up there in the clouds, but my everyday being, here and now. It is here that I, through faith and love, should be busy with things like care and charity for those around me.

 

Prayer: Forgive me, dear Lord, when my ego gets the upper hand. Help me to be humble so that I can assist others with their problems. Amen