Dear Thomas,
there was a time when I thought committing a sin, was when one went against the 10 commandments. But Jesus had defined the 2 most absolute laws. Loving God with all our mind and loving our neighbors as ourself. These two cardinal laws are very difficult to keep, not because we are not willing to abide by them, but because its so difficult to define the word Love and so Hard to explain the various degrees of understanding the attributes given to God by the different Religions. When I was a Kid, I never thought it was right to tell a girl or someone less than our parents, that we love them. Love requires full dedication, commitment and devotion. Since I believe that our sins , cannot be forgiven until we abandon it, I have not been able to judge myself whether I am worthy of this calling. Its difficult to know that , when Jesus was asked by a rich man what else he needed to do to enter into the kingdom of God, Jesus told him to give away all his Worldly riches to gain things from Heaven. He went away sad. I had been in many situations where I felt the urge to give without expecting a reward. Whenever I did so, I always rejoiced in my inner self. But many times I felt that just giving away a part of our riches, doesn't bring us the blessings we aspire for. I sometimes stray out of my prayers, for one reason or the other, then come back to ask God for forgiveness. I consider this attitude a slide to sin, which one must acknowledge in our daily prayers. When ever I fail in an endeavor , I have stopped putting the blame on God because, the bible tells us that ' God is too pure to behold iniquity' , too good to misguide the ways and attitudes of men . Here I take the blame and submit myself into humility and devotion to fill they empty space that was created in my heart and life. A sinful pain is heavier that a material Loss. Even when I become ill , or have serious pains, I always believe this happened because of my failure to abide by the Truth that Jesus preached. The Truth that healed humanity. Sin is known more particularly by our desire to do things in our own ways, without giving importance to this biblical saying ' It is the Lord that healeth me ' and ' its the Lord that worketh in you both to will and to do his Good Pleasure' Understanding this will bring harmony in our lives . The struggles of David were human, but he was able to find the right thoughts and the right words when he recognized his plight and his relationship with God. We can also do the same.
Pierre Louma
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