Source Code and the Mystery of God's Creation
Are you really a strong Christian?
Photo By: Flickr/Luiz Paulo Marques de Souza
There are two basic principles that I have come to understand and live out as a Christian. They are so simple and yet so profound that I wish I had understood them a lot earlier!
1. The joy of the Lord is your strength (Nehemiah 8:10)
Spiritual joy. It is this joy of the Lord that enables us to fight the battles of our spiritual life against our Enemy - the devil and his angels. Without spiritual joy, we are weak and vulnerable to the attacks of the Enemy, no matter how much faith we have or how much scriptural or theological knowledge we have. St Francis of Assisi had such a keen awareness of this that he would rush to prayer at the slightest hint of discouragement creeping into his heart, until his joy was restored to him.
[Francis of Assisi] insisted that spiritual joy was an infallible remedy against a thousand snares and tricks of the enemy. He used to say, "The devil is most delighted when he can steal the joy of spirit from a servant of God. He carries dust which he tries to throw into the tiniest openings of the conscience, to dirty a clear mind and a clean life. But if spiritual joy fills the heart, the serpent casts its poison in vain. The devils cannot harm a servant of Christ when they see him filled with holy cheerfulness. But when the spirit is teary-eyed, feeling abandoned and sad, it will easily be swallowed up in sorrow, or else be carried away toward empty enjoyment." The saint therefore always strove to keep a joyful heart, to preserve the anointing of the spirit and the oil of gladness.
- Thomas of Celano, The Second Life of Saint Francis
Ever since I have applied this principle of joy in my life, I have observed that I am able to face all the difficulties of life with confidence in God's power to help me.
2. In God's presence there is fullness of joy (Psalm 16:11)
If we want spiritual joy, if we want to be strong, we have to spend time in God's presence. It is as simple as that!
1) Be in God's presence and receive joy
2) Use that joy (strength) to face the struggles of the Christian life.
In my personal life, I have noticed that the enemy tries to distract me from my time of prayer, so that he can prevent me from receiving this joy from the Lord and thus make me vulnerable to his attacks. But having learned my lesson the hard way, by the grace of God I am now careful to ensure that I always spend time in God's presence everyday.
Spiritual joy is infectious. It is joy that draws other people to Christ. Few people are convinced by arguments for Christianity. But show them one joyful Christian soul like Pope Francis and they will be drawn to him and to the Christ whom he follows. It is joyful Christians who are truly strong Christians. They are dangerous to the kingdom of the devil; they draw souls to Christ and the devil therefore tries his best to steal their joy from them. May we always therefore live in God's presence and be filled with joy to go out in the world and radiate that joy of Christ to others.
St Francis of Assisi, pray for us.
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About the Author
I am a cradle Catholic. From a very early age, the hand of the Lord was upon me and he greatly blessed me. At a very young age, I began to read a children's Bible and read it many times over. Then, in my early teens, I began to be drawn deeper closer to the Lord in a more personal way. I found myself drawn to visit him in an adoration chapel and my prayer life began to grow. I was around 14 at that time. Then I got a copy of the Good News Bible and read that very eagerly. In my late teens I was very actively involved in a Catholic youth prayer group. We had praise and worship, talks. reflections, group discussions, etc. During this time, I grew personally by being mentored through a share group, but most of all because the Lord himself drew me close to him and I would often spend a lot of time before him in prayer. I then "upgraded" to an NRSV Bible and now I use the RSV-CE and have read that and the Catechism as well. I read and reflect upon God's word everyday as he leads me.
To be sure, my life has had its struggles, but since the time I have known the Lord personally (and even before that!), he has led me towards him and I am more and more drawn to him now. The story in my 20s is pretty much along the lines of following the Lord, making mistakes and learning from them, repenting and returning to the Lord, and following him again. The Lord has now brought me to a point where I can truly say I love him and it is my heart's desire to love him more and to draw other people to him.
I don't have any links to promote as such. I am not an active blogger. But a cause that is very close to my heart is Saint Paul's Outreach. Their website is http://www.spoweb.org/
I work as a Software Engineer in downtown Manhattan. I also play chess a lot and I have a National Master Title from the US Chess Federation. But my main interest is still the Lord and I'm willing to go wherever he takes me from here.
