Mark Shea, Words of Encouragement

The Battlefield!

April 25th, 2009 by Mark Shea Print This Article Print This Article ·

1 Corinthians 3:6-7

I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth. So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth.

As the people of God we naturally have a desire to change the world. We must remember however, that our cries to change the world must be spoken with a note of humility.  For if we are going to change the world, we must start with the most difficult of battles and that is changing our own hearts.  We know after much struggle and disappointment that only God can really transform our hearts as we cooperate with him. In the same way may our evangelistic efforts focus on the power of Christ, for only Christ can change the world. Ask yourself today, what does Jesus want to change in my life? How can this change in my heart change the world?

Mark Shea is Senior Content Editor for Catholic Exchange and a weekly columnist for the National Catholic Register. You may visit his website at www.mark-shea.com check out his blog, Catholic and Enjoying It!, or purchase his books and tapes here.

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  • Warren Jewell

    Because every battle for goodness and virtue is spiritual, it necessarily begins in the heart and soul, the mind, spirit and will, of each of us. Our soul cannot do in this ‘battle’ what the ‘rest’ of us will not join in to fight.

    Jesus Christ showed us that the weapons of this fight, internal and then into the world, must begin with such humility as to drive us with His love, and for love of God as well as our neighbor. Some may point out that
    “but, that means that in humility we may die to foster goodness!”
    And, they are absolutely right.
    Yes, that such sacrifice may be called for is true. But does any of us think that we might have to die so tortured as Jesus Christ – Innocent of innocents – has already died for our sins? His example of His Crucifix is an unpleasant reminder that being good can become awful, veritably a terror and horror, that it be awesome. But, in Christ, we have to be ready to give up the temporal lives we only temporarily have for maybe a century to own His eternal life from His salvation, mercy, love, grace and glory. Think – is not the call to any religious vocation the call, too, to give up worldly and perhaps material ‘success’, family closeness and such wondrous gifts of one value from God to own another set of His gifts of value that transcend this very life? We must be ready to give up our life to have it given back to us by Christ, and forever.

    Beyond that “our cries to change the world must be spoken with a note of humility”, so, too, we must live out that humility in example that is testimony to God’s graces that first changes us and then can change the world in the face of any enemy of goodness, any distortion and perversion of goodness. No – that is none of it easy.

    Let us continue on in our prayers.