In Mercy or In Ruin

To whom will we place our loyalty?

Will it be to Christ Jesus, through whom we enjoy communion with our Father in heaven through the forgiveness of our sins? Or will it be with ourselves?

The funny thing is, if we're to be on our own side, then we had better be on Christ's. The only way we will preserve our own life is to give it away in service to him--and those he identifies himself with. Jesus said it himself.

When we give ourselves over to him, we experience redemption. The abyss in our hearts that has become the silent agony in which we'll do anything to relieve disappears. We experience that contentment and peace that comes only from him. With our sins forgiven, we become fully present to our loving God, and he joins himself to our lives in a special and unique way that the Church has called indwelling. Thus, we begin on earth that communion with him that we will live to the fullest eternally in heaven. We will have saved our own lives by giving them up for him.

When we withold ourselves from him, we experience the scars of our sins. That void demands fulfillment, and we do whatever it takes to assuage it. Unfortunately, nothing ever does for long. Sooner or later, the pain of our emptiness returns. While we continue to refuse forgiveness for our sins, we hold God at a distance from us. Thus, we begin the alienation with him that we will live to the extreme eternally in hell. We will have lost our own lives by clinging to them for ourselves.

When we refuse Mercy, all we are left with is Justice. In Justice, we owe a debt we can't repay, and have tresspasses against our neighbors--and ourselves--that we can't hope to rectify on our own. In short, we live the maxim "what goes around, comes around."

I know this from painful experience. Too many times I have found myself caught up in my fear. I have forgotten to trust in the Lord, and thus I turned only to my own horse and chariot. Seeking to preserve my life on my own, I inevitably fail and lose more and more of what I hope to save. My past is littered with the wreckage of my attempts at self-salvation. My scars bear witness to my folly. Praise be to our Lord, Jesus Christ, that I live to tell about it. As long as I live, I have the opportunity to return to him and start anew. Whenever I do, and I place my trust in him, I find my fears evaporate like morning dew before the rising sun. Suddenly, my life thrives and prospers. Accomplishments arise behind me where once wreckage lay. When I give myself to him, I truly live.

To whom do we place our loyalty? Our choice is clear, as are the consequences of our decision. The Kingdom and the Enemy await. Who will we choose?