The good and the bad times

Fr. Roy Cimagala .

WE cannot deny that in our life we will always have some good times and some bad times. We just have to make sure that the good times are really good and the bad times are really bad, because it can happen that what we consider to be good times are actually bad for us, and what we consider to be bad times are actually good for us.

The secret in knowing what are truly good times and bad times is to refer them always to God who gives us the ultimate standard of what is good and bad, what is right and wrong. Without him, we would be out on a limb, exposing ourselves to the possibility of creating a merely subjective understanding of things that has nothing to do with the objective reality. We can be living in a fantasy world, in a bubble.

We know, of course, that with God, everything will work out for the good. (cfr. Rom 8,28) He can derive good even from evil.

He can write straight with crooked lines. We should never detach ourselves from him, since he is actually everything to us. It is only with him that we can properly handle all the predicaments, problems, difficulties and trials in our life.

But for all that, we cannot deny that there truly are bad times that will make us suffer greatly. God’s goodness and his wise, all-powerful providence do not exempt us from these painful bad times which actually are caused by our sins.

But he has shown us, through Christ in the Holy Spirit, how to deal with them such that these bad times can lead us to him instead of away from him. He has shown us how to derive good from the evil of the bad times.

And again, the secret is to look at the example of Christ, the way, the truth and the life for us. He suffered all the consequences of our sins that are the main cause of our suffering here on earth. And in so doing, he is showing us how to deal with all the negative things in our life. With Christ all the pain and suffering that we will experience in this life will be converted into expressions of love for God and for others. There can be no better bargain than this!

Thus, to be realistic in this life, we should not be naïve as to think that there will come a time here in this life when we can be freed from all suffering and pain. We have to expect them always. They are an unavoidable part of our earthly life. We should just prepare ourselves for them, knowing exactly what to do.

It might be a good idea to make it a habit to regularly meditate on the passion, death and resurrection of Christ, since it is from there where we can derive the precious lessons and insights of how suffering can be considered good, or how the cross of Christ which he asks us to carry can lead us to our resurrection and victory with him.

It might be good to remit here some words of St. Paul in his second letter to Corinthians that well describe what actually happens when we are with Christ as we go through our sufferings here on earth. (4,7ff)

“We hold this treasure in earthen vessels,” he said, referring to the great gift God has given us. And he continued: “so that the surpassing power may be of God and not from us.

“We are afflicted in every way, but not constrained; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed; always carrying about in the body the dying of Jesus so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our body…”

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The small and the big in love. Where there is true love, everything becomes meaningful and is pursued with a passion. The small and ordinary things of the day become very significant. There is never a dull, monotonous moment in the daily routine.

And while one’s usual daily task would only involve small and ordinary things, he is also ready to take on big, extraordinary things when the need arises. In fact, when one is truly in love, he will not allow himself to be trapped in some kind of routine, but will always take the initiative to look for other tasks and challenges if only to do more good to everyone. He would always be inventive and creative.

He is not afraid of the effort and sacrifice that may be involved. He would do all this without expecting any reward, or even an acknowledgment. He would do them simply because he wants to do them, he wants to give himself. No special reason is needed other than sheer goodness.

Where there is true love, not even problems, difficulties and misunderstanding, failure, rejection, etc. would detain him from his total self-giving. He would just be game whatever the outcome of his love-driven initiatives would be. In fact, tackling the sacrifices and suffering involved can only mean the authenticity of his love.

Of course, to be truly in love means one should have the same attitude God has toward his creation, especially toward us. We know that God is love. (cfr. 1 Jn 4,8) He is full of goodness. He went all the way to offering his life on the cross.

Even if his love is not reciprocated and is in fact rejected, he continues to love. It does not really matter to him if he is loved in return by us or not. He will continue to love us. Because of this kind of love, God will offer forgiveness for everyone and will do everything to bring us back to him, no matter what the cost.

This kind of love is precisely dramatized in full by Christ who offered his life on the cross for us, for our salvation.

“Greater love has no one than this, that he lays down his life for his friends.” (Jn 15,13)

And he wants this kind of love to be our love for him and for one another. In fact, he commands us to do so. “This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you,” he said. (Jn 15,13) And he continued, “You are my friends if you do what I command you.” (Jn 15,14)

It’s quite clear then what exactly would cement our friendship with Christ—if we know how to love one another as he himself loved us, a love that goes all the way to offering one’s life for his friend. We obviously have to prepare ourselves to reach this ideal and goal, especially disciplining our thoughts, memory, imagination, emotions and passions, so that they conform to the standard set forth by Christ himself.

We should be magnanimous especially when that love would demand some extraordinary effort and sacrifice from us, like when we are asked to be patient, compassionate, tolerant and merciful with those who cause us some trouble.

Christ wants us to have the utmost refinement in our love for one another. “Unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven,” he said. (Mt 5,20) It would not be enough to avoid harming a person physically. He wants us to avoid even thinking and desiring evil of a person or calling a person names.

Christ wants us not to be afraid to undertake big, ambitious projects for the good of everyone when the chance arises, and to be flexible in our ways so as to meet the needs of the others more promptly and effectively.

(Fr. Roy Cimagala is chaplain at the Center for Industrial Technology and Enterprise in Cebu. E-mail: roycimagala@gmail.com)