Strange, but True

(Christ in us, and the weight of tradition over the truth)

The same Christ who was formed in Jesus is meant to be formed in each one of us.

Just writing that… something already stirs inside me.
It is as if I were forcing a good thing upon myself.
As if it were too big. As if I could not, or should not, say it.

But it is true.
And it is precisely this truth that transforms.

Still, it sounds strange to me.
Even knowing that this is what Paul says.
Even knowing that this is what Jesus came for.
Even having lived real experiences that confirm it…

There is a tension inside me.

It is as if an invisible hand were pulling me down, saying:
“Who are you to say this?”

That hand is called religious tradition.
And it is heavy.

It does not present itself as evil.
It comes dressed in humility, in reverence, even in fear of God.
But deep down, it is a structure of thought that keeps us from believing in the fullness of God's promise.

It says:
“Jesus is everything, you are nothing.”
“He is holy, you are a sinner.”
“He is the Son, you are only a servant.”
“Do not dare to see yourself as He is. That is pride.”

But the gospel says something else.
The gospel lifts us up with Him, not to make us great, but to transform us:

“To those who received Him, He gave the power to become children of God.” (John 1:12)
“As He is, so are we in this world.” (1 John 4:17)
“I no longer call you servants… but friends.” (John 15:15)
“Christ in you, the hope of glory.” (Colossians 1:27)

The gospel was never an invitation to merely follow an example,
but to receive a new life.
And that life is Christ in us.

But tradition has smothered this.
It turned the good news into a set of demands.
And we, the temple of the Spirit, were turned into people who attend temples.

Meanwhile, the promise remains:

“Jesus Christ is the same, yesterday, today and forever.” (Hebrews 13:8)
“Christ is all in all.” (Colossians 3:11)
“You will do even greater works.” (John 14:12)

The same Christ who was formed in Jesus, a human being full of the Spirit,
is the same Christ who wants to be formed in me, in you, in every human being.

It is not easy to believe this.
But that is precisely the call of faith:
to believe what still seems strange, and to follow anyway.

If all this still sounds strange to you…
You are not alone. It sounds strange to me too.
But even so, I chose to continue.
To keep believing. To keep making room.
To keep allowing this living truth to take me apart, remake me, dwell in me.

Because if Christ in me is the hope of glory,
then believing it is not vanity, it is faith.

The faith that transforms is not only the one that believes Jesus existed,
but the one that believes He lives, and lives in us, through His Spirit.

The invitation

Let this truth visit you.
Even if it seems too big.
Even if it seems too bold.
Even if it makes you fall silent before you speak,
allow it to be formed in you.

And the provocation

Could it be that it is precisely tradition, and not the gospel, that taught us to doubt this?