The cross as the summit of our life

We have this happy assurance from our Christian faith—“God so loved the world that he gave his only-begotten Son, so that everyone who believes in him might not perish but might have eternal life.” (Jn 3,16) We should just know what this divine assurance implies.

- Fr. Roy Cimagala

Yes, we are assured of eternal life with God if we follow Christ who clearly told us that if we want to be with him, we should deny ourselves and carry the cross. (cfr. Mt 16,24) In short, the cross should be the summit of our life, just as the cross was the culmination of Christ’s mission of the redemption of mankind.

Not only that, we have to understand that we should have the cross not only at the end of our life, but rather in our daily life. It should be the summit of all our earthly activities. That would assure us that we would be with Christ and would be working also for the salvation of mankind, ours and that of everybody else.

We need to process this truth of our faith about the cross so we can live it truly. It should not just be a desire or an intention. More than that, the cross, in whatever form it comes, should cause joy in us rather than just a distorted face of pain.