The Effects of Sin (Part 1)
We know all too well the pain of sin in our lives. We know it is where all the sadness/difficulties of life come from[1]. As long as this pain has power over us, we cannot win against it. There is no greater struggle in life than overcoming the sins that were committed against us and those that we ourselves commit. If we are to truly overcome sin we must "undo" them. What is meant by "undo" is difficult to say definitively, so this will be a two-part post to begin this investigation. In this part, let us focus on the sins against us. Since it is rare for those who harm us to be aware, sorrowful about doing so, or even objectively deserve our forgiveness, tragic though it is we cannot let their ignorance or lack of conversion impede our relationship with God nor our healing. By virtue of our union with Christ, we are joined both to his suffering, death, and resurrection thus there is something of how we overcome sin wrapped in these three steps, and they correlate to the conversion process as a whole.
It has been said that "even Christ's passivity [during his passion] was His active Will". So also it must be our as we suffer the gap between the reality that is and the reality that should be. Absorbing evil in the greatest agony with Christ is the place of the Christian even within oneself (Job 2:10). In serving Christ we must offer not just some, but all that we are even our depravity (2 Corinthians 8:9; Romans 8:35-39) It is beautiful when our persecutors repent, it is then we either forgive them of trade our pride for our salvation (Luke 17:3). Even when they do not it is the place of one truly living the Gospel to forgive them, lest they lose their peace (Hebrews 12:1-2). There are many who accuse us of our failures and even our successes because of our faith in Christ, even those close (Matthew 10:34-39). This is the most difficult cost that comes from without ourselves. Christ, Himself, knew the cost of His Mission and felt the agony of the rancor of the authorities toward the King of Kings, Himself (Matthew 16:21). Of the people that should get it, they did not on account of themselves. Our corruption deceives us in very fundamental ways and even convinces us that our good depends on sin. This reality gives us cause for forgiveness because our corruption never ceases to trick us (Titus 1:15-16). Only the best can overcome it and even then fail. Accepting this fatal tragedy from others is a must for our peace but we must never forget why it was so difficult to forgive (Colossians 2:12).
Now, this acceptance is not an apathetic struggling-off of the but a cross. We must be willing to show ourselves as martyrs if we are to evangelize our persecutors (Romans 6:23). Still, we must remember if it is not a martyrdom in the fullest sense we must not risk our failure by seeking to endure more than our corrupt nature allows nor ought we think we are any better than them (cf. 1 Corinthians 5). Still, forgiveness gives us an opportunity to "rejoice in [our] sufferings for [others'] sake, and in [our] flesh [we] complete what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions for the sake of his body, that is, the church" (Colossians 1:24). It is precisely our invincible efforts toward the good that praise God as a living sacrifice, Jacob's ladder (Romans 12:1, Matthew 5:16, 1 Peter 2:12). This effort will change us forever and all for the better (Galatians 2:20).
Last, this gift of ourselves in forgiveness is hardly without reward/necessity. In forgiving, we conquer. It denies our enemies the end for which they labor i.e. our demise (Matthew 6:14-15). This is another motivation for granting mercy, why should we wish our neighbor ill even when he is at his worst when God would do nothing close for us (1 Peter 5:7)? It is this mercy on which not only our eternal salvation depends but our current peace (Acts 3:19). Who are we to refuse this peace to our assailants (cf. Matthew 18:22)? Would that the mercy we seek to obtain be accepted into our being and thereby flow indiscriminately to others (Philippians 1:6, Mark 11:25). Living this mercy as a witness to the Gospel, it would have to be true that there is "no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus" (Romans 8:1). Since there is no condemnation in Christ, Himself (1 John 3:2).
In conclusion, what conclusion is there besides the obvious? If there is any Gospel at it all it is one of forgiveness. If we think it only benefits us it truly does not. It is not that we must earn it but we must actualize/configure our soul to our salvation. Our hearts will not be open to receiving God's mercy if we do not first give it away. Jesus, Himself, gave a parable suggesting this very thing that our salvation depends on our forgiveness (see Matthew 18:21-35). We need it don't we, to forgive others on the psychological.
Poem by Ana Karen Perez: https://anakarenperez.com/a-catholic-poem-your-mercy-in-us/Without God’s Mercy,
We could have no Mercy
For Mercy itself is from God alone
It is by God’s grace we know
Compassion, forbearance
We transgress quickly, we repent slowly
And tiptoe our way back to do our penance
We forgive because God forgives
We too can have Mercy on others
During adoration,
I reflected on the silence of God in the Eucharist,
Why is God so quiet?
I have so much to tell.
Lord, my worries, my needs, my problems…
Here I am ready to pour them out
and flood the chapel with my many words.
Meanwhile, I notice the Lord is silent
Immovable and patient
His humility is comparable to him at the Nativity
The King of Kings quietly waiting on a humble throne
How Merciful is the Lord? I thought.
I transgress and he’s silently here.
Waiting for me.
Waiting for me to quiet my mind
And listen to his gentle voice only my heart can hear
At that moment, I recalled the words of Mother Teresa,
“We all know when we look at the cross how Jesus loved us.
When we look at the Eucharist, we know how much he loves us now.”
