For my family, belief in God and in the resurrection of Jesus

In the words of Mercedes Schlapp, “For my family, belief in God and in the resurrection of Jesus Christ brings such hope and promise to our lives. It strengthens our family and our marriage as we focus on Christ as our example of pure love, compassion, and tolerance towards others. This positive message is one that helps us become better people each day.” These words are not only testimony, but a song of faith—an anthem of how divine truth shapes human bonds. To believe in God and in the resurrection is to anchor life not in the shifting sands of the world, but in the eternal promise of renewal and victory over death.

The ancients would have heard in these words the echo of eternal truths. For every civilization has sought meaning in the unseen, every heart has longed for hope beyond the grave. Yet in the resurrection of Christ, the longing found its answer: death defeated, despair conquered, and love revealed as the highest law. This faith is no abstraction. Schlapp shows that it touches the most intimate places of human life—the hearth, the family, the marriage. The faith that Christ rose becomes the faith that husband and wife may endure together, that children may grow in light, that love may triumph over hardship.

History, too, gives us a mirror. Consider the tale of the Roman soldier St. Martin of Tours. Before he was a saint, he was a man of duty, yet it was his belief in God and his devotion to Christ that shaped his life of compassion. He gave half his cloak to a beggar in the cold, and in a dream saw Christ clothed in it. His faith strengthened him to serve not only his family but the world. His life is proof that when men and women anchor themselves in the example of Christ’s pure love, they transform not only their households, but also the society around them.

Schlapp also names the three great pillars of the Christ-like path: love, compassion, and tolerance. These are not weak virtues, but heroic ones. To love without condition requires strength greater than armies. To show compassion in a world of cruelty is an act of rebellion against darkness. To walk with tolerance toward others is to recognize the divine spark in every soul, even when their path differs from your own. In these virtues lies the power to forge harmony within the family, and to heal divisions beyond it.

Yet we must not forget that such virtues are not born of ease. Just as iron is tempered by fire, so too is marriage and family life tested by hardship. Faith in the resurrection provides not only comfort but resilience. It whispers to the weary: as Christ rose from the tomb, so too can your love rise after quarrels, so too can your family rise after trials. It is a faith that turns despair into strength, and weakness into endurance.

The lesson, then, is clear: let belief be the root from which daily actions grow. Let God be not only the One you call upon in sorrow, but the One who shapes your joy, your labor, and your union with others. Let Christ’s example not remain in sacred texts, but be written in your deeds—your kindness to a stranger, your patience with a spouse, your mercy toward an enemy. In this way, faith is not distant, but living, moving, and transforming.

Practical steps follow from this. Pray together as a family, for prayer unites hearts in humility. Read the teachings of Christ, and reflect on how they may guide your choices. Practice daily acts of love, not only grand gestures but small mercies—gentle words, forgiving hearts, shared burdens. And in times of conflict, remember the resurrection: that no darkness is final, no failure unredeemable, no sorrow without hope.

Thus, Mercedes Schlapp’s words shine as a beacon for all generations. Belief in God and the resurrection of Christ is not merely a creed—it is a fountain of strength for the family, a shield for marriage, and a fire that makes each day a chance to become better. Let those who hear these words take courage, for they are invited into a faith that transforms not only the soul, but the home, and through the home, the world.