Of sin and call to repentance ahead of Easter
Sin is a perversion from the will and way of God. It is the refusal of human persons to follow the designs and dictates of God. Ever since the dawn of history, human beings have sinned. Up to the present day, no one can boast that he or she can completely live a sinless life except Jesus Christ who lived a holy life here on earth. The devil is behind sinful lives. The devil leads us into sin by convincing us that we will find joy in sin.
Since time immemorial, different people have probed into the mystery of sin and its causes. All these attempts fail to produce exhaustive answers to address properly the question of the mystery of sin. Every time we sin, the devil proposes a way that is against the will of God.
The devil shrewdly convinces us that we will be happy if we sin. However, the result of sinning is that we end up in a web of confusion. We find ourselves in deep spiritual and physical problems which we fail to understand.
The story of Adam and Eve is a good illustration of the misery that emanates from sinful acts. The snake convinced Eve who later on convinced her husband that eating the forbidden fruit would be a good thing to do. The snake rebuked Eve and told her that by eating the forbidden fruit, Adam and herself would be happy.
However, the results of their disobedience and sinfulness were terribly sad. As we know the story, God punished Adam and Eve because of their disobedience. In addition, an avalanche of guilt descended on Adam and Eve. They both escaped and run away from the good part of the Garden of Eden. They found refuge in hiding in the thick bushes so that God could not see them. This was the fall of Adam and Eve.
Like Adam and Eve, all of us have had our high points and weak points. We have had our falls and down points. We have all had times when Satan misled us into situations, which we do not like to think about or recall.
The fall of King David, was a scandal in the eyes of many Israelites. Despite the respect and honour, which he was receiving from the people of Israel, David slept with Uriah’s wife. This was a scandalous episode. David thought that he would find joy and pleasure after sleeping with Uriah’s wife but the truth of the matter is that David regretted this action for the rest of his life. This episode tainted the life of David in the eyes of so many people. It is an episode, which led David into remorse, regret, and sorrow.
Unfortunately, these two episodes of Adam and David characterise the circle of human life. We all have had situations when we have fallen into sin. This situation becomes more serious when our scandal or sinfulness becomes a public scandal, which people talk about in beer halls, gatherings or in church meetings. We feel so low, confused, and dejected. People no longer remember the good things, which we have done in the past. All that remains for us is sadness, shame, and confusion. We shudder at the prospect of coming into the public because people begin to talk about us or to ridicule us.
We become like objects, which people stare at with ridicule. Unfortunately the devil is so shrewd that he attacks us when we least expect him. The same displeasure with sin is what we find in the words of St. Paul when he said that he had a wish to do good things but despite his good wish, he ended up doing what he did not want to do. We all have had situations when out of weakness we have ended up doing what we did not want to do.
In conclusion then we can note that all of us sin but the difference is that after sinning some people repent and make an effort to be good people while others persistently forge ahead on the road of sinfulness. Saints or holy people are not people who have never sinned but they are people who after sinning believed in the mercy of God and confessed their sins.
Confession and repentance of one’s sinfulness is a great step towards holy life. Despite our fallen nature, the grace of God always helps us to surmount the temptations of the devil. What we need to do is to trust in the mercy of God while making every effort to live dignified lives befitting the children of God.
Jesus already assured us that God rejoices when a sinner comes back to him. The challenge for all of us is to make an effort to make amends with God because of the several times when we have offended him. We are very lucky to have a God who throws a party when a sinner comes back to him as seen in the story of the prodigal son. It is up to us to make a bold step and move towards God. I can assure you that God will embrace you.
Repent today and God will welcome you!
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