Tomorrow is the first day of the rest of your life. What a beautiful thought and attitude to have after making it through one of the bumps in the road of this game called life.
By Joe M. Govea
Basically, we are all created as good persons. The Bible says, “God made the world and saw that it was good”. We are born as members of God’s Kingdom, but we have to work to be able to stay there. God gives us a brain and expects us to use that brain to make good decisions. He gave his laws to guide us.
God’s adversary the devil is always at work to draw us away from God’s Kingdom. He exposes us to things that look and are pleasurable to the flesh but are against God’s laws. Sometimes we take the bait and commit a sin. After the good feeling is gone, we become remorseful. Guilt is not very comfortable feeling to have.
Remember the flesh is always wanting. The devil knows this and uses it to his advantage. He takes pleasure when he controls us. He likes it when we hurt God by breaking his commandments.
Being in a state of sin leads us to an unhealthy body and a regretful state of mind. The realization that what we did was wrong bothers us. Sin has that effect. It is unsettling. The soul God has put into our bodies just doesn’t like dwelling in a temple that is impure. That soul, which is us, is a conscience that realizes we are alive and likes it. Yes, it likes it until it gives in to the desires of the flesh. Now it becomes a stressed-out conscience and that doesn’t feel very well.
God knew that this free will he gave us was going to get us in trouble. God is a merciful God and has given us a way to heal us after sinning. It is called “reconciliation”. This sacrament was won for us by Jesus Christ through his death on the Cross for the forgiveness of sins. During reconciliation we must be sorry for our sins as we confess them to a Priest, a representative of Jesus Christ. We ask him for forgiveness, our sins are then forgiven by the power of the Holy Spirit.
That free will he gave also saves us. You see God wants us to come to him because we want to on our own. He wants us to love him by our own free will.
After reconciliation our soul feels good. That body is pure, and the soul likes its temple again. We are back to being members of God’s kingdom here on earth again as it is in heaven.
Remember, those sins that are forgiven means they are gone and are forgotten by God and you should forget them as well. They are in the past.
Now, with God as your King you can happily look forward to begin living the rest of your life.
Peace and Love to you all,
Joe M. Govea, a devout Catholic whose duty is to evangelize