We all want victory, don’t we? We all want to be overcomers. We want to overcome sin, evil, and our weaknesses. We desire victory over our adversaries, too. We simply want to win. Winning feels good.
I want you to be assured of this: it is the Lord’s desire for you to be victorious. It is the Lord’s desire for you to conquer the world and live fully as the redeemed.
Victory that Overcomes
There is a secret to victory over the world. 1 John 4:29–5:4 tells us what it is: “For whatever is born of God overcomes the world; and this is the victory that overcomes the world, our faith.”
The world spoken of here does not include the mere physical things we see, feel, touch, perceive, or hear in our temporal existence. The world spoken of here is the world that is opposed to righteousness.
It is the world of temptations and sinful lures that take away the joy of the Lord from our hearts. It is the world of injustice, hate, corruption, and lawlessness. It is the world of evil. It is the world that deprives us of our blessings.
The Lord assures you of victory over those things that take joy away from you or deprive you of your blessings. The Lord desires that you, too, become an overcomer.
“The Victory that overcomes the world,” Scripture says, is “our faith.” It is the faith rooted in Christ, who is our victory. Christ, who conquered sin and death, grants anyone who believes in him the grace of participation in his divine life so they, too, will be overcomers.
Remember what the Lord told his disciples, words addressed to you and to me too: “I have said this to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world, you have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world” (John 16:33).
Divine Assurance for Victory
The Lord assures us he has overcome the world. He did this so that we, believers in him, those born again through baptism, might be overcomers too.
1 John 5:5 asks this question of you and me: “Who is it that overcomes the world but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God.”
You now have it. Faith in Christ is your victory over sin and death. It is your victory over the worldly. It is your victory over despair in dealing with the spiritual life. Faith is an incredible and lasting inspiration to live a fulfilled life, a life worth living.
What kind of faith, you may ask? Is it merely verbal confession or a mere mental knowledge without your heart and entire personality following through with its demands?
To be an overcomer entails more than this. The faith that makes us overcomers is the faith described by Saint Paul as faith working through charity (Galatians 5:6). It is believing in Christ as the Savior who has overcome the world for us. It is being born again through baptism and behaving in accord with the faith we have received and profess. Thus, we are God’s special ones.
I hope you believe this. I am praying for the grace to believe and live by faith. Amen.
Reflect
In my life, what is the relationship between my prayer life, my going to church, and the way I relate to other people? How does my faith life relate to the practical works of mercy I do or ignore? Do I translate my faith to actions in the society in which I live or is it only about a profession without social and charitable commitments?
Pray
Lord, give me the grace of pure devotion to you. Increase my virtue of charity so that in all I do, my dedication to you will inspire me to do more and to fight for justice. May I see clearly the relationship between my prayer life and active involvement in the causes of justice and mercy and a just social order. Amen.
(Excerpt from An Encounter, Vol. 1, by Fr. Maurice Emelu, pp. 188-189. Subheads one and two added here)
[Readings: 1 John 4: 19–5:4; Luke 4:14–22]
