“I came forth from the Father and have come into the world. Again, I leave the world and go to the Father.”
John 16:28
With Christ, we are masters of our destiny.
This verse summarizes Jesus Christ’s earthly existence. It can also be applied to our own.
From the Father
Jesus Christ is the incarnate Son of God. The angel announced to Mary that the child she would give birth to would be called the Son of God. The Bible does not say whether Mary informed Jesus of this encounter. Nevertheless, at the age of twelve, Jesus already knew that God was His Father. He questioned the teachers in the temple because He wanted to know and understand His Father’s will. Later, at His baptism and transfiguration, God proclaimed Him to be His beloved Son.
God chose us before the foundation of the world to be His children (Eph 1:4-5). At our Holy Sealing, God announced to us, through the Apostle, that we were children of God. The Holy Spirit regularly reminds us of this (Rom 8:16). And He teaches us the Father’s will in the divine services.
Sent into the world
God sent His Son into the world. As a true man, Jesus Christ was exposed to evil like all humans. He did not receive special treatment because of His divine sonship. He came to bring salvation to humankind, not to solve all the problems of this world—His kingdom is not of this world.
We live in this world and share the fate of our contemporaries. Our divine filiation does not exempt us from misfortunes. God sends us into this world to be a light (Mt 5:14-16), witnesses of Christ. Not to solve all the problems of this world in His name!
Go to the Father
Jesus Christ’s goal was to rejoin the Father in His kingdom. He wants us to be where He is. We are determined to get there.
Leave the world
The Lord did not commit any sin. He was able to leave this world because the ruler of this world had no power over Him (Jn 14:30). We cannot claim the same perfection. But we are determined to renounce evil.
Being master of your destiny
Jesus Christ remained perfectly in control of His destiny. Nothing could stop Him from fulfilling His mission and reaching His goal. With Christ, we too can reach the goal we have set for ourselves.
We can count on Jesus’s intercession. As He did for His disciples, He prays that our faith will not fail (Lk 22:32) and that we will be preserved from evil (Jn 17:15). Let us also give special attention to our faith. It allows us to overcome all obstacles (Mt 17:20) and to triumph over the world (1 Jn 5:4-5).
The Lord had absolute trust in His Father. Let us imitate Him:
- He knew that God helps those who do His will. Let us seek first the kingdom of God. Let us do whatever is necessary to provide for our physical needs, but always follow God’s will!
- He always made His decisions by referring to His Father’s word—think of the temptation in the desert. Let us give more importance to God’s word than to human thoughts.
Christ’s strength was also in His love. We love Christ for who He is and what He does for us. What we do, we do out of love for Him, not for personal gain. Therefore, our commitment to Christ is not dependent on the thanks or successes we experience. They who love Christ with true love have the assurance that what God permits contributes to their salvation (Rom 8:28).
Let us remain humble to God and humankind. God delivers the humble from the sins that prevent them from attaining salvation. Let us draw strength from the sources that Christ has made available to us: the preaching, Holy Communion, the apostolate and the fellowship of the faithful.
We are children of God, sent into the world to serve Him. We leave the world to go to the Father. By following Christ’s example and with His help, we will reach our goal.