Thursday, 9th January – Thursday after Epiphany

Reflection: 1John 4:19- 5:4

FAITH AS A WEAPON

The Church of Christ in which we presently find ourselves i.e. the Militant Church is united to God, our heavenly Father in the Spirit but nevertheless situated in every corner of the world. This raises an alarm of caution and vigilance because the world is always waging war against the Church of Christ. To be for Christ is to be an enemy of the world (James 4 : 4).

Beloved in Christ, to sustain ourselves in our journey to meet God and dwell forever in his presence, there is a need to acquire and develop radical but divine weapons which are beyond the reach of our adversary, the devil. This divine weapon is our Faith which must firmly be built up on patience (Isaiah 28:17). Even when the world brings challenges and persecutions to our doorstep, the weapon of faith would never repay evil for evil but would always win all battles with a firm hope of salvation for all men. To have faith is to believe God who is ever ready to fight our battles for us in His own way. To believe in God’s ways even without comprehension is our response to His love for us. Sometimes, you expect Him to strike down the evil doers but nothing happens. This is the good fight that St Paul talks about in 1 Timothy 6:12.

Let us take time today to build our faith with the word of God (Romans 8:17) and never stop building because every battle of life has its own victory through our ability to appropriate God’s word per time. When our weapon is weak, we are susceptible to all forms of doubt and setbacks, thus making Gods commands seem too hard to keep. The firmness of our faith dwells in our ability to leave all our worries to God who is our stronghold. May Christ preserve us in His love and keep us steadfast in our faith walk.

PRAYER: Lord Jesus, bless me with the gift of Faith to preserve my life for eternity. Amen.

KNOW YOUR FAITH: CCC 162- Faith is an entirely free gift that God makes to man. We can lose this priceless gift, as St. Paul indicated to St. Timothy: “Wage the good warfare, holding faith and a good conscience. By rejecting conscience, certain persons have made shipwreck of their faith.” To live, grow and persevere in the faith until the end we must nourish it with the word of God; we must beg the Lord to increase our faith; it must be working through charity, abounding in hope and rooted in the faith of the Church.

HIDE A TREASURE: “At all times carry your faith as a shield; for with it you will be able to put out all the burning arrows of the evil one”

Ephesians 6:16 GNB

Readings for Today: 1John 4:19 – 5:4; Psalm 72:1-2.14-17; Luke 4:14-22