Tuesday, July 11, 2017

2 Corinthians 2:14 -- On Triumph in Christ

"Now thanks be unto God, which always causeth us to triumph in Christ, and maketh manifest the savour of his knowledge by us in every place."
2 Corinthians 2:14

I love the wording here that God causes us to "triumph in Christ."  And isn't that so true?  We're often, in this world, tempted to see the negative around us and even encouraged by society to "face reality" and see the truth of evil, and pain, and death.

Those things are true, and perhaps they can help encourage us to make a better world.  However, if we think that they are the only truth, or focus on them without seeing the beauty and love and goodness in the world as well, then they just lead to discouragement and hopelessness.  The much, much greater truth is that Christ has overcome *all* of those things, and God (and good) wins in the end.  We all triumph, and there is a happy ending waiting for anyone who chooses to keep trying and keep seeking Christ.

I talk about a happy ending a lot, of course, and sometimes it is frustrating *now* to think that we have to wait that long.  And to help us with that, there is another overwhelmingly cool word in this verse: "always."  God doesn't just promise us a happy ending later.  He is in our lives now.  Mormon 9:14 tells us that if we're happy now, we'll be happy after the judgment day... which means it's possible *now* and God is will us *now* helping us to find ways to triumph every day.

This doesn't mean of course that there aren't times to mourn in our lives or that we have to be always laughing, or that clinical depression doesn't happen.  We all have different challenges, and I am not trying to diminish them... but God always is.  He is helping us to bear up our burdens with ease, so that we can't feel them on our backs.  He is saving us from the darkness, even of our own minds.  He is there with us as we mourn.  Through him, every moment of our lives, we triumph.

Today, let's work on focusing on the good things around us.  Let's open our minds and hearts to Christ and the good and joyful things around us, even as we acknowledge that there are sad and evil things as well.  Let's choose wisely, and embrace our opportunities to triumph in Christ.

1 comment:

  1. Yes we triumph in Christ!because we have Christ like attributes,and thank the Holly Ghost for that(the baptism of fire)Amen to your post.

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