Tuesday, March 20, 2018

Gospel Thoughts Today: Indifference to Sin

Distractions exist in abundance, don't they?  As a writer, alone in my environment, I constantly battle a wandering mind.  The simplest things can draw me away from the task at hand. When I'm at a loss for words, I check my email. Distraction. The buzzer goes off on my dryer signaling clothes needing to be folded. Distraction. Huge stacks of paperwork in need of filing. Big distraction!  And, boy, being in our commercial real estate office during the day . . . well, distractions abound! My conscience warns me to stay on track.  But old habits die hard. Excuses are made. Over time, my conscience may begin to accept the excuses as fact. I become lax in full focus and eventually become frustrated things aren't moving faster. Sounds a lot like our faith journey, right?  If we let the world dictate how we act and feel, how can we act and feel as God desires?  If we deviate from what is good and just, how can we ever escape our sins? We can't do it alone. That is a fact! Relying on Christ through prayer and with focus, His Abundant Graces will never disappoint.

In today’s Gospel (John 8:21-30), Jesus shows us the way to our salvation is through the Father:

Jesus said to the Pharisees: "I am going away and you will look for me, but you will die in your sin. Where I am going you cannot come." So the Jews said, "He is not going to kill himself, is he, because he said, 'Where I am going you cannot come'?" He said to them, "You belong to what is below, I belong to what is above. You belong to this world, but I do not belong to this world. That is why I told you that you will die in your sins. For if you do not believe that I AM, you will die in your sins." So they said to him, "Who are you?" Jesus said to them, "What I told you from the beginning. I have much to say about you in condemnation. But the one who sent me is true, and what I heard from him I tell the world." They did not realize that he was speaking to them of the Father. So Jesus said to them, "When you lift up the Son of Man, then you will realize that I AM, and that I do nothing on my own, but I say only what the Father taught me. The one who sent me is with me. He has not left me alone, because I always do what is pleasing to him." Because he spoke this way, many came to believe in him.

I couldn't agree more with Anne in the following quote from her book Staying in Place:

"Truly, we must exist bearing the tension of what is our fallen nature and what is God. This existence creates tension because one cannot advance alone. God is needed for transformation."

Lay apostles of all ages, what path are you following in your life?  The rocky yet heavenly path to Jesus or the easy sinful path while on this earth?  I am far from perfect.  But I am moving in the right direction despite a few steps backward once in a while! The key is, I flounder when I try to do it alone.

Thank you, Lord, for allowing me to stumble alone once in a while, always bringing me back to You and Your Love so mercifully!

God bless,
Bonnie

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