One Step Away

God never gives up on us

Temptations take many forms. Some are quite overt, as in viewing people as objects to satisfy our pleasures instead of as children of God - the sin of lust. Or, being so jealous of others and whatever they have that we wish they would lose their material and/or spiritual gifts - the sin of envy. There is also wrath - flying into an uncontrolled rage to the extent of wishing or imposing physical harm on someone else.

However, temptations can also take on a much more subtle form. Have you ever felt like you were a failure? This is not about failing once or twice or even more often, but of being a failure in life. Or have you felt that your life was not worth living to the point of contemplating suicide? Have you been so angry with yourself that you put yourself down? These, too, are temptations, exploitation of our weaknesses.

One of the greatest of these latter temptations that can be experienced is the belief that we have done something so wrong, so horrible, so evil, that even God will not forgive us. This temptation is actually a blatant effort to separate us from the love of God, a love which will never be broken.

If one reads the Bible and listens to the words of Jesus and the evangelists, we come to realize that how markedly untrue that feeling is. The prime example of God's love, mercy, and forgiveness can be seen in St. Paul, who actively persecuted the early Christians to the point of sending them to their deaths; it is doubtful that many today have regularly and purposefully carried out such deeds.

And God forgave St. Paul.

"One Step Away" (lyrics) by Casting Crowns delves into this issue. They muse that we all would like to go back and relive that one day of our lives where we wandered far from God, down the wrong path. We are so ashamed of what we did that we don't believe we can ever enter that narrow gate.

But, Casting Crowns reminds us that we are only one step away from getting back onto the correct path, that path to everlasting life. God will never give up on us. It doesn't matter how awful or evil we have been, God will take us back. We must forsake our pride and shame, forget our past evil deeds, and seek the love of God. God will not leave us alone. Again, look to St. Paul who said "...forgetting what lies behind but straining forward to what lies ahead, I continue my pursuit toward the goal, the prize of God's upward calling, in Christ Jesus". (Phil 3:13-14).

God wants us to come home to him, home to his love and grace. He will do everything to bring us back into his loving arms. All that we have to do is to turn to him, seek forgiveness, and accept his love. St. Paul did. We can too.

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