WHERE I FOUND JESUS

God chose to make known the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; it is Christ in you...

Colossians 1:27

When I was in college, I began an earnest search for my Christian God. I attended Catholic Charismatic groups while taking part in Protestant prayer gatherings. 

In the end, I chose to be a Protestant. Their Bible study was so structured that I learned a lot about the God that I yearned to know. But something disturbed me. 

It was the way a friend shunned his family after failing to evangelize them. He moved out of his parent's home and declared, "Let them rot in hell!"

Is this what will become of me? After learning all I can, will I become judge and jury of my fellowmen and condemn them for their apparent sins? 

In contrast, I remembered the people in the Catholic Charismatic groups and how they shared their shortcomings and weaknesses. Because of their own failures, they support and encourage others who are also struggling. Their humility, compassion and mercy moved me and revealed to me what I had been looking for all along. 

I searched and finally found God, not in the books that I read but in the hearts of the people who loved as Jesus did. 

By: Cecil Lim, Philippines (cez_lim@yahoo.com)

REFLECTION: God doesn't want you to bring people to Jesus. God wants you to bring Jesus to people. (Bo Sanchez)