Being Possessed with Christ

Being possessed with Christ is difficult. When I talk about being possessed with Christ, I’m describing moments when we allow people to see how we live as the body of Christ. This is difficult because good choices don’t always seem to be worth our time and energy. Yet, good choices are worth it, and showing people Christ is a lot easier than trying to teach them about Him.

Being possessed with Christ does not mean being extreme or crazy. It means we do the deeds that show people God is present in the world. It doesn’t necessarily mean we have to stand on a street corner proclaiming the Word of the Gospel. Although, this does remind me of the movie God is Not Dead. In the movie, a gentleman stands on the corner of a heavy gang neighborhood trying to convert people to believe in Christ and even carries around a huge cross while doing so. While the movie is based more on Protestant Christianity than Catholicism, it does bring home the point of what it means to be possessed with Christ. It is about planting the seeds of faith in a person. We just may not see the seed grow or know the outcome later.

The seed is about doing Spiritual and Corporal Works of Mercy. These works show people that others do care about what happens in the world. They are about learning to walk with others on the journey of faith, too. At times, it is difficult to feed the hungry when you are hungry for Christ. It is difficult to go into a prison and not judge fellow human beings because of the mistakes they make. Living as a Catholic is not an easy task. Watching priests make the choice to not act in a Christ-like manner proves they too have a difficult time being possessed with Christ.

Being possessed with Christ also is not about being perfect and sinless. It is about showing people that Christ still exists 2,000 years later. The spirit of being Christ-like still lives on. With all the hate, anger, and most importantly, the haste of judgment, we forget that Christ exists in the world. While receiving an award for my work with young adults, an acquaintance gave me a card. In the card the acquaintance wrote, “I hope others have the opportunity to see Christ in you because I see Christ in you every time I think about you.” This reminds me that, although I am a sinful person, it is more important to allow Christ to shine through me.

This is not an easy task. I am not a perfect person who lives a life high and mighty. I am the person who just tries to be possessed with Christ. I try to make the decision to live each day pleasing my God. It goes without saying that having a burning desire to live for Christ makes the decisions to show others Christ easier. The Spiritual and Corporal Works of Mercy are easy to accomplish even if we are only completing one a week or every other week. The goal is to just try to be possessed with Christ. Allow people to see that Christ lives within you. Give people an opportunity to see that you are possessed with Christ, and good choices are an opportunity for them to meet Christ as well.