As a child, I was taught to go to confession and tell a priest my sins. My friends and I would stand in a school hallway discussing our "sins." We would make up the sins and how many times we committed them. It sounded like this: "What did you do?" "Well I disobeyed my parents 4 times. I lied 3 times. I stole once and I said a dirty word (I said fart on a Sunday!)." It became a game of making up sin just so we would have something to say when we got into the wooden box with the priest behind the curtain.
The priest would then give us some penance. It would be something like 3 "Our Father's," 4 "Hail Mary's," and 3 "Glory Be's." We heard that one really sinful kid had to say the whole Rosary! We understood penance as being prayers you would say to get rid of your sin. Our next assignment in sin removal would be to say those prayers. Then it was over and we didn't discuss sin until our next rendezvous before confession.
Focusing on sin does not remove sin. It's a no-brainer to realize that we all have sinned. There isn't a human being dead or alive who has not done something with a dark character streak. Adding up our sins only causes a coagulation and clotting of darkness. If you sit in a dark room and focus on the darkness, you will not remove the darkness. Your gloomy heart will remain sullen until you introduce some light into your soul.
There is a light switch for your soul called Christ. He designed a way of truth that reveals a new life. The Cross of Christ was first planted on a hill called Golgotha. That hill was a nasty place filled with murderers, mockers, torturers, liars, thieves, hypocrites and cheats. Yeah, sinner folks galore with every type of dark sin you could imagine. Most folks have their own definition of sin and they use it to define other folks. Every definition of every kind of sin was present on that hill called Golgotha. It was the darkest place ever assembled until light was introduced.
Death as we know it represents the final frontier - the place of no return. Viewing life with only a physical understanding presents limitations. Our world is full of examples of the appearance of death followed by new life: The four Seasons are a constant cycle of death and rebirth. A kernel of wheat has to fall to the ground and die before it is born again. Forgiveness lets resentment die and replaces it with a new life of grace. Park Rangers use a controlled burn to destroy old growth and make room for new life in a forest. Introducing light into your darkness will cause new life to grow within you.
You don't have to pack your bag full of dirty character, fling it over your shoulder and drag your darkness through life. Just get up and go turn a light switch on. The light switch is connected to a current of grace that causes light to eliminate your darkness. Focus on the light. The coolest part of focusing on the light is that you become unaware of the darkness. The light becomes so inviting that you stop allowing darkness to exist. Even when you trip and fall back into the darkness, the light switch is always within reach. Eventually the light permeates every area of your life.
Death on the Cross was followed by new life. As the grave stone was rolled away, Christ became a light switch that lights your present path as well as your journey into the final frontier of eternity. Just before he died. one of the last words that Christ uttered through tortured lips was: "Forgive." That word became a seed that died and fell into the ground before it came back to life as forgiveness for you and for me.
Would you like light in your life? Start with that seed-word of forgiveness. Plant it today in some dark soil. Just believe that hope will water it and faith will shine upon it as it grows into new light in your life. Go and forgive your neighbor. Thanks for your time. Go do something nice for somebody. JLYASDW
The priest would then give us some penance. It would be something like 3 "Our Father's," 4 "Hail Mary's," and 3 "Glory Be's." We heard that one really sinful kid had to say the whole Rosary! We understood penance as being prayers you would say to get rid of your sin. Our next assignment in sin removal would be to say those prayers. Then it was over and we didn't discuss sin until our next rendezvous before confession.
Focusing on sin does not remove sin. It's a no-brainer to realize that we all have sinned. There isn't a human being dead or alive who has not done something with a dark character streak. Adding up our sins only causes a coagulation and clotting of darkness. If you sit in a dark room and focus on the darkness, you will not remove the darkness. Your gloomy heart will remain sullen until you introduce some light into your soul.
There is a light switch for your soul called Christ. He designed a way of truth that reveals a new life. The Cross of Christ was first planted on a hill called Golgotha. That hill was a nasty place filled with murderers, mockers, torturers, liars, thieves, hypocrites and cheats. Yeah, sinner folks galore with every type of dark sin you could imagine. Most folks have their own definition of sin and they use it to define other folks. Every definition of every kind of sin was present on that hill called Golgotha. It was the darkest place ever assembled until light was introduced.
Death as we know it represents the final frontier - the place of no return. Viewing life with only a physical understanding presents limitations. Our world is full of examples of the appearance of death followed by new life: The four Seasons are a constant cycle of death and rebirth. A kernel of wheat has to fall to the ground and die before it is born again. Forgiveness lets resentment die and replaces it with a new life of grace. Park Rangers use a controlled burn to destroy old growth and make room for new life in a forest. Introducing light into your darkness will cause new life to grow within you.
You don't have to pack your bag full of dirty character, fling it over your shoulder and drag your darkness through life. Just get up and go turn a light switch on. The light switch is connected to a current of grace that causes light to eliminate your darkness. Focus on the light. The coolest part of focusing on the light is that you become unaware of the darkness. The light becomes so inviting that you stop allowing darkness to exist. Even when you trip and fall back into the darkness, the light switch is always within reach. Eventually the light permeates every area of your life.
Death on the Cross was followed by new life. As the grave stone was rolled away, Christ became a light switch that lights your present path as well as your journey into the final frontier of eternity. Just before he died. one of the last words that Christ uttered through tortured lips was: "Forgive." That word became a seed that died and fell into the ground before it came back to life as forgiveness for you and for me.
Would you like light in your life? Start with that seed-word of forgiveness. Plant it today in some dark soil. Just believe that hope will water it and faith will shine upon it as it grows into new light in your life. Go and forgive your neighbor. Thanks for your time. Go do something nice for somebody. JLYASDW
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| Darkness becomes light through forgiveness. |
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