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"For the wages of sin is death;but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ " (Romans 6:23).
Although your words today, dear God are not from St. Paul, his words to the Romans immediately came to me as I prayed on the sins of King Ahab and his queen Jezebel in the first reading. Though you have forgiven Ahab for his sins after he had confessed having caused the death of Naboth to have his vineyard, you never took back' his punishments which fell upon his whole family line. Although I feel it a bit unfair, your Son's teachings in the gospel cleared all questions in me.
Jesus said to his disciples: “You have heard that is was said, You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy. But I say to you, love your enemies, and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your heavenly Father, for he makes his sun rise on the bad and the good, and causes rain to fall on the just and the unjust.”
Matthew 5:43-45
Yes, your words O God are so difficult to comprehend, even insane when we come to think about them; but the more I dwell on your words, the more I try to follow you in Jesus Christ, the more I realize you are not only holy but also practical. Holiness is being practical. Staying holy, being good, being loving and forgiving are the most practical and sanest things to do: so often, life becomes miserable for us because of our own making, of our wrong choices to do what is sinful, what is unjust, what is wrong. In the case of Ahab and Jezebel, there were the clear results of death due to sin because sin begets sin; unless a sin is rectified, it will destroy every person perpetuating it. And that is why we have to love our enemies; it is for practical reasons too because to return evil for evil increases evil and sin. Only love can stop sin and all the follies of mankind.
Today, dear God, help me to bring more love in this world, to bring more peace and mercy to stop the spread of evil and sin further. Amen.
