Bible
Study: 1st John 3, 7 to 10 and John 1, 35 to 42.
Just like
yesterday, St. John hits hard on the meaning and danger of sin in our lives as
Christians. According to him, sin not only removes us from our status as God’s
children, it also makes us children of the devil. “Everyone who commits sin is
a child of the devil; for the devil has been sinning from the beginning.”
John does
not stop there, he goes on to say: “Those who have been born of God do not sin,
because God's seed abides in them; they cannot sin, because they have been born
of God.” Now, does this mean that as children of God having received the
sacrament of baptism, having been born of God, we are no longer capable of
committing sin? Or is John trying to say that those things that bother our
conscience are not really sins? To assume such would be to read the text
completely out of context.
Now, in
other for us to understand what John is saying, think of light and darkness.
These are two opposite realities. Light and darkness cannot co-exist at the
same time within the same space. Sin makes darkness of us. The moment Adam and
Eve sinned, they could no longer remain in the Garden of Eden. Why? Darkness and
light cannot co-exist. As children of God, we cannot sin – meaning we cannot
afford to swim in sin lest we lose our identity as children of God.
By the
way, we must point out that sin is not something that happens unconsciously.
Every sin requires full prior knowledge, the full volition of the will
(consent), a pre-meditation and the boldness to execute it. For instance, one
cannot commit sin while asleep. In other words, we have all it takes to avoid
sin if we are so determined.
In our
Gospel passage, we see John the Baptist having introduced Jesus as the Lamb of
God who takes away the sins of the world allow two of his disciples become
followers of Jesus. One might assume that John the Baptise was sad so see two
of his disciples leave him but that was not the case. In fact, it brought him
much joy to see Jesus increase while he decreased. In John 3, 28 to 30, we hear
John the Baptist saying: “You yourselves are my witnesses that I said, 'I am
not the Messiah, but I have been sent ahead of him.' He who has the bride is
the bridegroom. The friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him,
rejoices greatly at the bridegroom's voice. For this reason my joy has been
fulfilled. He must increase, but I must decrease.”
And
therein lies the key to living above sin. It is a matter of allowing Jesus
increase in our lives. When I compare the number of hours I dedicate to
pursuing my career, making a living or even mundane activities with the number
of hours I spend in communion with Jesus daily or at personal prayers, I cannot
but see that there is need for Jesus to increase while I decrease. When I treat
Jesus as though he is not my priority in life, I only end up being ruled by
sin.
Let us pray:
Lord Jesus, help me live above sin. Amen
Be Happy. Live Positive. Have Faith.
It is well with you. God bless you. Happy New Year.
Fr. Abu.
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