By Quin Hillyer at PJ Media;
…..[The readings from a week ago share] another commonality in addition to God’s mercy. In each case, the mercy comes only after we humans move in God’s direction. Sometimes the movement is a particular confession of sin; sometimes it is a renewed keeping of the covenant; sometimes it is a direct plea for forgiveness. In the Epistle, it is a mere openness to God’s grace – but even then, it is an active openness, an attitude of seeking reconciliation via our own conscious choice of so orienting our souls.
Will this presidential election be the most important in American history?
It is often very difficult for us to put our faith in an invisible God, but this faith is a predicate for the grace God offers. The key thing here is our faith, our trust. As the Psalm says, “Steadfast love surrounds those who trust in the LORD.”
This is more difficult than it sounds. We are not only aware of our own sins of action or at least of thought, but we are also full of pride. It is not easy to submit, nor easy to admit error much less re-orient our souls so as to (try to) correct it. And it is very difficult indeed to acknowledge that grace and redemption are out of our hands and entirely in God’s hands – because that means we are not, personally, ultimately, in control.
But that is what God asks of us…..
