16 February, Thursday — Life beyond Life

Thursday of Week 6 in Ordinary Time

Gen 9:1-13
Mk 8:27-33

“..the Son of Man was destined to suffer grievously…”

I have been plagued with inadequacy for as long as I can remember. Thankfully, I have grown in confidence as a man in middle age, and as a Christian.

I can safely say that these feelings have been responsible for my falling into depression on three separate occasions. The one I remember that affected me the most was when I turned 40, for about nine months.

I had looked at what I had (and had failed) to achieve then. I looked at my cohort and friends and realised I had fallen far behind. I felt I had not done enough to leave behind a legacy, should I be called to account at that moment. It was this feeling of inadequacy that got me feeling down.

This must have been how the apostles had viewed Jesus’ life and ministry. They saw Jesus as the “conquering hero”, and the ending was in his victorious crowning. Indeed, Jesus is the ultimate victor, and the outcome is even more potent than that envisioned by the disciples. Instead of conquering armies and society, He conquered death itself! Rather than a comparatively narrow victory, the actual outcome was even more glorious.

I realise now that knowingly or unknowingly, I, too, had looked at my life as finite. We will not, of course, live forever. At least not in the physical form. We will merely continue with our lives in the realm of heaven. 

We cannot do it by ourselves. Even with Jesus by their side, the disciples failed to see the ultimate picture of what would pass until it did. What more for us? How can we be so arrogant and proud to think that we know our future? We need to learn to trust our Lord with our lives, and to hand the reins over to Him, in complete confidence and trust!

(Today’s OXYGEN by Paul Wee)

Prayer: Father God, help us to learn to have full and true faith in You. May we be led to a closer experience of journeying with You in faith and trust.

Thanksgiving: Thank You, Lord, for being there for us, and showing what is best for us. We are grateful, Father, that You continue to carry us no matter how tough or dire the circumstances.