Courage is something we all strive for and often we see people in situations that we are convinced we could never cope with if it happened to us, but the human spirit usually takes over and we do pull through. As Christians we have the added strength of a faith and confidence in God holding us through any crisis we may face and even when we ourselves feel completely overwhelmed and may even struggle with our faith, we have our brothers and sisters in Christ to pray for us and support us. Jesus last commandment to his disciples: ‘Love one another as I have loved you, by this shall all people know that you are my disciples.’
In the film ‘The Passion of the Christ’ the lasting images for me are those when we can see Jesus struggling to find the courage to face his accusers, to accept the uncertainty of his friends and ultimately to face his very violent and drawn out death. Jesus always prayed to his Father, no matter how tough it got, only once asking: ‘My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?’
Jesus bravery took him to the cross and the price was paid for our sin so that we might be reconciled to God. Our Father, who wants us to have the courage to face life, knowing that whatever happens, He will hold us close, even when we think He has forsaken us; Jesus died and was brought through that experience to show us that there is eternal life.
That gift of life should help us find the courage to face any headwind that may blow our way. As Paul says in Romans 8: ‘If God is for us, who can be against us?…there is nothing in all creation that will ever be able to separate us from the love of God which is ours through Christ Jesus our Lord.’
