The
righteous person will live by faith. The object of our faith is God, in Whom we
live and move and have our being. God created us and sustains us in being.
There is nothing we can do to add a single hair to our head or a minute to our
lifespan. Because of our weakened nature, we cannot overcome our sinful habits
without God's saving grace. When we had nothing to show for ourselves, God
called us to be His People, He continues to call us and promises to lead us to
our true homeland, which He had prepared for us from all eternity. Because this
calling is freely given it must be freely accepted. For us to accept it, we
must leave everything we find comfortable and familiar and follow wherever God’s
love and will may lead us.
As
we respond to God’s invitation, we become more aware of the fact that we are
not the people God created us to be. We no longer reflect the image and
likeness of the One Who created us. However, God refuses to leave His work
unfinished. It takes my breath away to think that God loves us even when we do
not love ourselves. His love is offered to us even while we are caught in the
clutches of sin. God sees in us the reflection of His Son and loves us with an
everlasting love. When we were lost and could not find our way to Him, God sent
His only-begotten Son to be our Redeemer. Through faith in Him who conquered
sin and death, we are transformed into the Children of God and made heirs of
the heavenly kingdom.
Acknowledging
God’s movements towards us, we learn to live in the freedom that comes from
Love. We love because we have been loved. That which we have received as a
gift, we offer to others as a gift. Faith is our response to the faithfulness
of God. Those who repent of their sins and choose to live as children of the
Light gain more in the exchange than they lose. Jesus Christ is the greatest
gift the world has ever received. He is the Giver of life. He is our companion
as we journey. He is the Goal of our pilgrimage. To reach our destination, we
must walk the walk of faith. Living by faith and persevering in faith until the
end, we will gain the crown of glory, the prize for which Christ claimed us. We
progress along the path, not depending on our own righteousness but trusting in
the boundless mercy of Christ.
Our
confidence lies in God's grace. God is the source and reason for our peace and
contentment. The Holy Spirit is the stream of living water that quenches our
thirst. The kingdom is the green pasture where we find rest and nourishment.
Sin is real and we cannot simply wish it away. As we struggle with our
sinfulness, we must never doubt that God's mercy is greater than our sins.
Jesus is the light that the darkness could not overcome. By the power of the
cross Christ has restored us to life and given us a share in the freedom of the
children of God. It is our choice to cling to the cross so as to live in this
freedom or to revert back to the slavery of darkness and sin.
Let us be so conformed to Christ that we pour ourselves
out in love of one another. When someone has wandered from the path, let us
join the Good Shepherd in seeking them out and bringing them home. May no one
be lost because we have failed to love with the love of Christ. When the Lord
Jesus returns in glory may He bring us all together to eternal life!
Father Jerome Machar, OSCO
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