An Endless River

There is no fear in a life of Godliness, goodness and righteousness. There is no fear in Love.

16 For God so loved the world that he gave[a] his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him might not perish but might have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn[b] the world, but that the world might be saved through him. 18 Whoever believes in him will not be condemned, but whoever does not believe has already been condemned, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God. 19 [c]And this is the verdict, that the light came into the world, but people preferred darkness to light, because their works were evil. 20 For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come toward the light, so that his works might not be exposed. 21 But whoever lives the truth comes to the light, so that his works may be clearly seen as done in God.-John3:16-21

As I read the Gospel reading, I remember Judas Iscariot and Peter. Because of Judas' betrayal, he fell into extreme guilt and possibly believed that he would never be forgiven no matter what. Perhaps he really blamed himself as he witnessed the brutality done to Jesus. Peter, a good friend of Jesus, denied Him before the cock crowed. Talk about dying with Jesus! Perhaps Peter also felt guilt for adding misery to Jesus by deserting and denying his master at the time that He needed His 'Rock' the most. Their stories are somewhat the same to me because each turned away from Jesus. The difference is, Peter believed that he would be forgiven and be shown mercy, whereas Judas despaired and believed that he would be condemned for all eternity. For me, Judas condemned and judged himself, and refused to believe in Jesus' mercy.

We are sometimes slaves of our imaginary fears. Sometimes we don't believe in second chances. Sometimes we think, 'I failed once, I'll fail again' or 'I was hurt once, I will never love again.' But Jesus is a river of overflowing love, mercy, compassion and forgiveness. 'Come to the water, you who are thirsty,' He says (as in Is55:1). No matter how much or how little we drink, Jesus' water never runs dry and never fails to comfort. We need not be afraid to try and try again. We need not be afraid to love again, to start again, to stand again. For every adventure, Jesus will always be there to accompany and help us. Though we stumble, we will never fall because He is there for us.

Image courtesy: Mitchell Tolle

Loves righteously

Mercy and Love.

18 This is how the birth of Jesus the Messiah came about[a]: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be pregnant through the Holy Spirit. 19 Because Joseph her husband was a righteous man, and yet[b] did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly.

20 But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. 21 She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus,[c] because he will save his people from their sins.”

22 All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: 23 “The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel”[d] (which means “God is with us”).

24 When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife. 25 He had no relations with her until she bore a son,and he gave him the name Jesus.-Matthew1:18-25

Righteous means (of a person or conduct) morally right or justifiable; virtuous. A righteous person conforms to or in conformity with the moral law. I think, then, that this type of person will do and follow what is exactly written especially by the moral law. According to the Law, a woman found to be with child out of wedlock faces banishment or stoning to death depending on the situation. In Mary's case, supposing Joseph declared that the child is not his and supposing that no one would believe that her child is the Holy Spirit's work, she faces either banishment and/or execution of both mother and child. But Joseph has shown mercy and compassion. Instead of putting her to shame - which is actually what he should have done as a righteous man - he opted for a quiet divorce. Divorce is not a good thing too. But compared to death sentence, divorce is probably much better instead, considering that Mary and her child would be banished and not put to death. But God has better plans. God protected Mary and Jesus by revealing to Joseph in a dream that the child is the Savior and Mary conceived not out of sin, but through the Holy Spirit. Mary and her Child were given a home and a good man that will care for them both.

God is rich in mercy and compassion. Even the most evil of men is forgiven by God and will be embraced by Him should s/he repent. Joseph probably was much pained by Mary's pregnancy knowing that it was not his. But instead of being angry at her, hating her or putting her to shame, he has shown mercy, compassion and love which is a true indicator that Joseph had the grace to have a heart similar to God. Not all injustices should be paid equally by blood. Not all pains should be equally paid by pain. Not all wrongs should be equally paid by shame and disgrace. What do you prefer? A righteous world where love is absent? Or a world that loves and forgives righteously?

Image courtesy: clker and artist