From a Shepherd's Fold . . .
by Father Kenneth G.  Davis
(from April 2001 Tidings)

Have we accepted His gift?

Christ has died; Christ is risen; Christ will come again.  What a wonderful acclamation of us after the penitential weeks of Lent, a time of spiritual examination, hopefully a time of pardon and growing more closely with the Lord. How grateful we must be for all that Jesus  has done for us, laying for us the foundation of the Christian Faith, that Jesus has CROSSED OUT all our sins on Calvary, and assured for us a place in God’s Eternal Kingdom. Have we accepted His gift, claiming it for ourselves?

When I was a child, the emphasis was placed upon us to purge ourselves from our sinful nature, and getting right with God. Preaching stressed the severity of God toward sin. It was what we disdainfully called “hellfire and brimstone.” The pendulum now swings in the other direction. We now preach of God’s love and kindness, to the point that we largely ignore His attitude toward sin. We  accommodate sins condemned in the Bible on the grounds that a “kind, loving” God will not be unduly severe. Not so! Jesus made no concession to the human point of view. Even a cursory knowledge of the New Testament will shake our confidence in the fact that God’s love is always gentle to the point of being permissive, that He never practices “tough love.” God is never arbitrary. He is unchanging. He CANNOT be other than severe toward sin. The cross perfectly portrays the balance of His character, for it demonstrates His severity toward sin and  His kindness toward sinners.

“But God demonstrates his love for us in this:  While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”  — Romans  5:8

May you receive the blessings of the Eastertide Season.

Faithfully,
KEN+
(Shepherd – Ken Davis)