The lives of people who have always managed to live for others always make an impact. We all remember the names of people whose life has been so defined by this devotion to the neediest, and to the causes of justice and brotherhood, that it has filled them with sense and has made them shine and be inspiring for many. Such a life involves sacrifices and hardships. But they assume it with joy because they are aware that they are bearers of life. Sometimes these experiences are very close, perhaps in the bosom of their own family; other times it is about people reaching the most widespread happenings, precisely because this way of life plants concerns in the minds of all.
Anyway, the sacrifices, hardships, and even more the slander and torments, produce fear in most of us. Those who embrace them must be very convinced that it is worth the effort to do so, on the basis of a much greater ideal, something that must make sense to them. Christian life has often been described as a battle. As St Paul liked to do, as we can verify in his letters. (cf. 1Cor 9, 24ss; Flp 3, 13-14, etc.). He who lives his life through the code of love and truth, who feels in the depths of his heart a true passion for the wellbeing of his brothers, knows how to face his difficulties with serenity. He feels the pain, but knows that it is a redemptive pain like that of Jesus.
How do you face the difficulties that life will bring? Do they stimulate you or sink you into depression? Upon experiencing it, do you feel the deep joy of knowing that you are following Jesus more closely?