I Have Been Taken Possession of By Christ

I opened up my devotional today to see this line from Paul in Philippians, “I have been taken possession of by Christ,” and my eyes teared up. What a beautiful line. What does it mean to be taken possession of by Christ? What does it mean for God to grasp you in such a way? A personal reflection...

During the last week or so, I’ve been contemplating my spiritual journey, and how much I have grown in my faith by the grace and mercy of God, especially in the last year and a half. It may sound rather radical, but I have truly been transformed, and I only recognized the difference recently. For the first time in my life, I feel a real sense of enduring peace and joy, like a fundamental spiritual shift has happened within me. I'm in awe of how God works.

I have been taken possession of by Christ.

Life is no longer what it used to be. Material things don’t have a hold on me. What I treasured is no longer a treasure. Prayer, faith and service are my priorities. Witnessing to the love of God has become my single passion. Because honestly, the love of God is the solution to everything, I’m finding. I didn’t used to see it, but now I do. God’s done His work on me. He’s grasped and changed my heart...almost without my realizing it. 

And I just want everyone in my world to have that too.

Because that’s what Christ’s possession of you does, you see. It’s not yours to hold. It’s yours to give.

I guess I now join the people of the narrow way, the people following Christ to the point of loss. It’s not all sunshine. It’s not easy. There is suffering. There is loss. There are hard choices. There will be continued development as I go deeper: slips, rough patches, and dry spells. God requires and expects much of me daily. There are plenty of people who don’t understand my lifestyle, my choices, and so on. They’re uncomfortable with it, or think it's too radical. But in the words of Paul, "Whatever gains I had, these I have come to consider a loss because of Christ." For emptying self is true the path of love.

When you fall in love with Christ, when you are possessed by Him alone, you’re changed. You’re made new, and you follow. In the words of Fr. Pedro Arrupe … “Fall in love, stay in love, and it will decide everything.”

May you too become totally taken posession of by Christ. May enduring passion and zeal for Him and His love enthrall you.

Nothing is more practical than finding God, than falling in Love in a quite absolute, final way. What you are in love with, what seizes your imagination, will affect everything. It will decide what will get you out of bed in the morning, what you do with your evenings, how you spend your weekends, what you read, whom you know, what breaks your heart, and what amazes you with joy and gratitude. Fall in Love, stay in love, and it will decide everything.

- Fr. Pedro Arrupe, SJ