How to Break Free from the World and Live for Christ

Pearl: Stand erect and raise your heads because your redemption is at hand. (Luke 21:28)

Often, we become so caught up in the busyness of life that we forget we’re only on this earth for a very short time. We place so much importance on worldly activities (both good and bad) that we can either ignore God completely or put Him way down the list in the order of importance in our lives. For many, God is just an afterthought, calling on Him only when we are in desperate need. In doing this, we make worldly things our Gods because we have made them more important than the one who created us. More important than the one who loves us so much He died for us, the one who is our Lord, Savior, and Redeemer, yet still humbled Himself to become one of us.

As Christians, God is always calling us to Himself, and He wants more than anything to give us, His children, the gift of eternal happiness in heaven one day. But we have to accept the gift. He won’t make us take it, He won’t make us love Him. And in the end, God will give us what we really want based on the life of faith that we lived (either heaven or hell). God doesn’t send us to either place. Where we will spend eternity will be based on our faith and the choices we make in the here and now.

It’s essential that we understand that this earthly life is a time of preparation for eternal life. It’s a time to grow in our relationship with the Lord. It’s a time to grow in holiness, preparing ourselves to live forever in pure holiness with God one day. Think about it. Even if we live to be 100 years old, that’s just a blink of the eye in God’s time, and none of us know when our last day will come. With this knowledge, you would think that we would spend a lot more time and energy building a relationship with Jesus than most of us typically do.

Now I’m not pointing any fingers because if I did, I would have to be pointing straight at myself. It’s the struggle we all face living in a fallen world. A world where the enemy reigns. A world where we have to constantly refocus ourselves on what’s important, acknowledging that this can only be done through the Lord and the Church He gave us.

Jesus is always willing to help us break any unhealthy ties we have to the world if we will only humble ourselves and come to Him. Confession is a great place to start this process, where we reconcile ourselves to Jesus and receive the grace we need to help us live according to God’s will for our lives.

Going to Confession regularly is Powerful, and from my experience, it is life-changing because the Sanctifying Grace we receive in the Sacrament actually does make it possible for us to live our Act of Contrition (“To sin no more and avoid the near occasion of sin”). During diaconate formation, we were asked to go to Confession at least once a month. At the time, I thought that was a little excessive since I was only going once or twice a year. However, after going regularly for a few months, I noticed a true change in myself, and my wife did as well (and after being together for almost 50 years, that’s nothing short of a miracle).

I still have my own issues, and of course, I’ll always be a sinner, but there’s no way around the truth that by consistently humbling ourselves to the Lord, allowing Him to touch and heal the wounds in our hearts and minds, He will draw us into His heart (which is love itself). Give it a try. I promise Jesus will not disappoint you.

In the gospel of Luke, Jesus (our redeemer) gives us some instruction on this topic, telling us what to do and what to expect in this battle of life. He says:

“Stand erect and raise your heads because your redemption is at hand.

Beware that your hearts do not become drowsy from carousing and drunkenness and the anxieties of daily life, and that day catch you by surprise like a trap. For that day will assault everyone who lives on the face of the earth. Be vigilant at all times and pray that you have the strength to escape the tribulations that are imminent and to stand before the Son of Man.”

My friends, Jesus our redeemer is at hand. He’s probably not coming today, but all of us will see Him face to face quicker than we think. In Catholic theology, redemption is defined as the restoration of man from the bondage of sin to the liberty of the children of God through the satisfactions and merits of Christ. This concept emphasizes that humanity is freed from the slavery of sin and restored to a relationship with God through the sacrifice of Jesus. But we have to do our part, and through His Church, we are given everything we need to build a strong relationship with Jesus and break any relationship with evil that has come into our lives (meaning anything that draws us away from God).

Our first reading from Malachi emphasizes this point, saying, “The day is coming blazing like an oven, when all the proud and all evildoers will be stubble. But for you who fear my name, there will arise the sun of justice with its healing rays.”

In our second reading, St. Paul encourages us to imitate him and his followers. He speaks about how everyone who can work should work and earn their own keep, but on a deeper level, he is calling all of us to live the gospel he proclaimed. He says, “We wanted to present ourselves as a model for you, so that you might imitate us.” So what is the model St. Paul calls us to imitate? We know that after his dramatic encounter with Jesus on the road to Damascus, he went from committing grave sin by hunting down and persecuting Christians to being one of the greatest Apostles. He did this by totally surrendering himself to God and living the life Jesus called him to live (no matter the cost). We know that for him, the cost would be great because his great love and faithfulness to Jesus eventually cost him his life. St. Paul consistently lived his life for Christ, and he did it with the same intensity that he once persecuted the followers of Christ.

He truly lived his life as he proclaimed in his letter to the Philippians, who he told, “My eager expectation and hope is that with all boldness, now as always, Christ will be magnified in my body, whether by life or by death. For to me life is Christ, and death is gain.” That’s a pretty hard-core statement by St. Paul, but that’s the life we all should strive to live during the limited time we have here on earth. Of course, we may never reach the level of commitment to the Lord that St. Paul did, but that doesn’t mean it’s impossible or that we shouldn’t try.

In the gospel, Jesus clearly tells us that living as His disciples won’t be easy, but that He will be with us. He warns us not to be deceived by false prophecies or prophets who claim to know when He will return or when the world will end. He said, “Many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am he’, and ‘The time has come’. Do not follow them.” He warns that we will be persecuted and put in prison and led before government authorities for proclaiming His name. Jesus goes on to say that even our family and friends may abandon us and that we will be hated because of His name. Then He gives us the good news that provides us with hope when He says, “But not a hair on your head will be destroyed. By your perseverance you will secure your lives.”

Back when my kids were students at West High and were participating in sports, to fire them up, I would say, Intensity and Consistency, that’s what it takes to win. Truth be told, they weren’t big fans of my little slogan (especially if I walked up and said it really loud to the entire team while they were eating their pregame meal at Whataburger). I only did that once, but it’s true. Intensity and Consistency are important, not just in sports, but in life and anything we want to be successful at. However, in our lives, there’s actually only one thing we must be successful at, and that’s our life in Christ.

Brothers and Sisters, even in the face of evil, we must live our faith courageously, with Intensity and Consistency, encouraged by the fact that in all things Jesus is with us and wants us to Know, Love, and Serve Him. We can’t live our faith on our own terms. It can’t be something that we practice in a lackluster way, or only when it’s convenient to us, or fits into our schedule. Jesus gave us a Church to show us the way to come to know Him (not just know about Him, but to know Him personally and live in relationship with Him), and thanks be to God, it’s the church you’re in right now!

Amen!