“The real test of Christianity is not in loving Jesus but in loving Judas”
Yeah, Christianity sounds easy. Love this guy named Jesus, go all out on the day he was born and the weekend he died, sounds good. But in the grand scheme of things, there wasn’t just a guy called Jesus that existed, there was a man named Judas as well. Somebody whom we would call the “antagonist”. The best friend who stabbed him in the back for some money, the one who, at one of the most painful and intense moment of his friend’s life, sold him for a kiss. The one who makes us angry, the one who makes us clench our fists, the one who don’t deserve to be called a friend, yes him. You know at times what’s tougher than loving Jesus? loving that guy!
In our life’s splendid story, you’ve come across a Judas, if you haven’t, you will. Or you are the Judas, the world is twisted. One way or another we have to come across “that guy”, and it is going to be an experience. One that’s filled with rage, pain, hurt, betrayal, guilt, regret all these feelings are going to come like a flood and at that moment, it is really, I mean really tough to love that person. That is when our Christianity is put to the test. How much can I forgive and let go, how much do I hold against that person without taking matters for a wrong turn?
“The commitment to let go, in all situations, without exception, including we, is an intensely transformative commitment. The nature of letting go of those feelings towards that person is such that it cannot be pretended or intellectualized. It is a practice which involves deep surrender to God and sincere humility. Once we let go, it brings quietness, stillness, peace, and happiness. If we want to be happy, we must be willing to let go of that which is most painful to us. The ego will put up a vicious fight, reminding us of how justified we are in holding onto all those things. The ego gets its life force from such resentments and so it is hardly going to co-operate with its own demise. However, with a sincere desire for happiness and peace, one finds the ability to let things go. The end result more than compensates for any temporary discomfort.”
Those feelings that struggle with are not wrong, it is being human. We are created and we come with all those feelings and emotions and every now and then, depending on the circumstances, it is going to come up, it will try to sway but the power we hold withing ourselves is the one that triumphs over those feelings. The power to forgive, to forget, to let go and to live life, not ignorant of what happened but innocent of evil.
“Do not let the shadows of your past darken the doorstep of your future”