The Christian life is a constant struggle against
daily adversities that seek to separate us from God.
Although some would say that nothing can separate us
from the love of God, in reality it is we who can separate ourselves from the
permanent love that God has for us (John 15:4). Remaining in harmony with God
is never imposed on anyone but requires our consent and active participation in
'entering' and 'remaining' in Christ, who, of course, never stops loving us or
calling us to Him, even when we are in sin.
This act of will that is required to remain on the
Path that our Lord Jesus traced for us, comprises many choices and sacrifices,
some of which are difficult to make.
Letting go of job offers for not fitting into God's
interests, letting go of people we love because they are not Christians or
devoted to God, or losing friendships for refusing to share immoral conduct,
are just some of the many sacrifices we must make daily. so as not to break our
harmony with God.
CRITICAL MOMENTS
However, the atoning sacrifice of Christ is based
specifically on the innate inability of the human being to be perfect or live free
from all sin.
(John 15:5; Romans 8:8)
If our Lord Jesus had not had mercy on us and had
not incarnated himself to pay for our sins, all humanity would be hopelessly
lost to the eternal Lake of Fire (Revelation 20:15).
This constant fight becomes critical when we fight
against bad innate passions, each person with his own battle, because not all
human beings are damaged in the same way. Some fight against greed, others
against lust, others against ambition, and so everyone fights on their own
battlefield, with the weapons that the Holy Spirit has given us (Ephesians
6:10-18).
But in this daily fight, many times some of us
stagger before the attacks of the devil and our own concupiscence, and we have
difficult moments, where only one push would suffice us to send us to
perdition.
SUPPORT NOT PRESSURE
At times like this we do not need pressure of any
kind, but rather support, be it in words of encouragement or comfort, or acts
of humanity such as a small offering or food or other things.
We must be careful not to put pressure or cause
extra burdens on those we find in this state of struggle or condition.
When we pressure someone about his conduct with GOD,
we push him to do something reckless without paying much attention to it, moved
only by indignation or despair.
Every time we say to someone who has drunk alcohol,
"You are not a Christian, otherwise you would not get drunk"; or to a
girl who ended up fornicating with her boyfriend, "You're easy, Christian
only by mouth"; we are harming that person, doing Satan's work which is to
accuse and not God's which is to save and forgive (Revelation 12:10).
People like this can reach such a degree of stress
that they end up abandoning the Faith completely, feeling unable to follow
Christ, or in some cases taking their own life. If this happens because of our
words, we will have sent a person to Hell, and added sin on ourselves.
TO DO
Understanding human weakness, and that life is a
path to follow, and not an end in itself; we must see and treat these people
with the consideration and respect that every human being created in the Image
and Likeness of God deserves (Genesis 1:27).
We must speak to them with words of forgiveness and
hope in the Name of Jesus, reminding them that the Christian life is a path to
travel, and that the War is won after many battles, some lost and others won.
And finally, we must remind them as well as
ourselves, that the last and sure hope is in the mercy of Jesus, even if all
our efforts fail, because despite having failed, the one who tries to obey God
all his life, has demonstrated his sincerity towards his Saviour.
"If we confess our sins, He is
faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all
unrighteousness."
1John 1:9
Omar Flores
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