As we enter the Lenten season, we are reminded of the great sacrifice offered on our behalf on Good Friday, by our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

Jesus lived a life of humility and generosity.  He taught us the lesson of loving one another as we love ourselves and to love God the Father, above all else.

In the fast pace of today’s society, we are easily distracted, and excuse ridden.  We allow work or some other activity to become the deity we worship.  We lose sight of the wonders God offers us.  It seems that it is only when we experience hardship that we stop and remember God.

We call God, our Father, as Jesus taught us.  We may have been birthed by a human mother, but we must never forget that our birth was a blessing offered by God.  God took human form to absolve us of Original sin and offer us an avenue to be forgiven of the sin we commit daily. God wants us to join in all that he offers.  He wants us to have the best human experience possible.

Through the death and resurrection of Jesus, we are freed of original sin and offered the opportunity to live a holy life.  God’s love for us does not end with the Cross.

Reconciliation offers us the opportunity to be honest with ourselves and God.  We’re given an opportunity to reflect on our betrayals both against others in our lives and God.  We must not forget that while we may be able to hide our sin from family, friends and others, we can not deceive God.  Like a parent with a child, it saddens God to see us in our weakest moments as we chose the wrong path.  The path we take helps mold our character and moral discretion.  Sinning becomes easier if we fail to recognize the impact it has on ourselves, others and God.

Through God’s gift of reconciliation, we are offered the opportunity to acknowledge the wrong doing and make an act of contrition.  We can make amends and make a conscious decision to walk a new path.  Further, “it is a way of apologizing to God for abusing the gifts of life and freedom.” (O’Malley, p13).

When we sin, we compromise our relationship with God and show a disrespect for all the wonderful things he’s given us.  We can relate this to how a relationship can be disrupted with a friend or family member.  Too often, we allow ourselves to become estranged from friends or family over hurt feelings.  We self-exile ourselves from God’s love when we choose to exclude him from our lives.  It is through prayer, that we can overcome life’s obstacles through the gifts of the Holy Spirit.  We must pray, asking for the Lord to send us the Holy Spirit so that we may use his gifts as a road map back to a loving relationship with God.  Our Triune God never stops loving us.  He allows us our free will to abandon him, but he rejoices when we face our failures and humbly ask him for his blessing.  Reconciliation brings us closer to perfection in the light of God’s face and it just feels good to relieve ourselves of the burden we’re carrying around in the form of guilt.

Remember the sacrifice of our Lord on Good Friday and choose to have God remember you when he opens the gates of Paradise for all believers in Christ.

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Works Cited

O’Malley, Willliam J. A Sane Sense of Sin New York, NY. America Press, 1995. Print.