"The sense of sin is something deeper and more existential. It is not merely a sense of guilt referred to the authority of God. It is a sense of evil in myself. Not because I have violated a law outside myself, but because I have violated the inmost laws of my own being, which are, at the same time, the laws of God Who dwells within me. The sense of sin is the sense of having been deeply and deliberately false to my own inmost reality, my likeness to God....The sens of sin is, then, something ontological and immediate which does not spring from reflection on my actions and comparison with a moral code. It springs directly from the evil that is present in me: it tells me not merely that I have done nothing wrong, but that I am wrong, through and through. That I am a false being. That I have destroyed myself."
~ Thomas Merton - The Inner Experience
....Something that captured my attention this morning over breakfast....
2 comments:
Hi Nicholas. Merton seems to know like few others, the reality of sin that lurks within the lives of even those who follow Christ. That's why the first half of John 15 is so critical for us. As we abide in Jesus He abides in us. We grow stronger, his presence grows stronger. When we do fall, we "fall with style" (Woody- Toy Story) into the strong arms of God's redemptive grace.
hank
ps see you tomorrow?
Hey Nick... Wow thats something to think about, the reality sin. Umm i'll think about it some more... but i wanted to say hi.
Deanna
( the chick who love hot chocolate and cinnom rolls)
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