8 Feb 2017
The great sin of Adam and Eve wasn’t that they ate the apple;
it’s that they didn’t listen to God.
Jesus says, “Nothing that enters one from outside can defile that
person; but the things that come out from within are what defile.” And so, the apple wasn’t the problem. The problem was that what came out of the
heart of Adam and Eve was disobedience.
Disobedience was their great sin.
That’s what “defiled” them; not the apple.
But, of course, not everything that comes out from within a
person is bad. There’s a lot of good
that comes out, too. Forgiveness comes
from within. So does humility, honesty
and openness with God. They all come
from within a person—and they’re all redemptive; they all bring us closer to
God.
Now, we all sin and make mistakes. There’s a streak of disobedience toward God
in all of us. And we accept that. But where we go from there makes all the
difference.
After Adam and Eve disobeyed God, they only compounded their
sin by hiding from him. It would’ve been
better if they’d just replaced their disobedience with openness and
sorrow. It would’ve been a lot better if
they’d just stood there, with the apple in hand, and been upfront with God,
instead of hiding.
And there’s a lesson in there that we can take from our
“first parents,” the lesson being: when we sin, just admit it to God. Our sins come from within. But, so too, does honesty and
repentance. As St. James says, “Good
deeds cover a multitude of sins.” And
many times the best “deed” that can come out of us is to simply say to God,
“I’m sorry. Please forgive me.”
And he does.
Always.
No comments:
Post a Comment