When I was a layman, I asked myself a question. 'God loves me. The Holy Spirit loves me. Jesus saved me from death, destruction and hell. My pastor loves me. However, why don’t I love myself? I should love myself. Why don’t I love myself?' In that case, I couldn’t make any excuses. If you can’t ask yourself, who is fallen, a question like this, you are really a miserable person. If you really want to lead your life of faith correctly, you must turn back in no time realizing that you are corrupted. What’s the reason that you are not distressed at your corruption?
Have you ever asked yourself why you are not afflicted and tormented while you have pains that distress and hurt you and you have wrong relations with God? We are going to be judged by the word of God at the Last Judgment exactly as we lived in this world.
At this moment living in the flesh in this world, let’s examine ourselves firstly by the word of God. If we find any fault in us, we have to repent of it to avoid the Last Judgment. How foolish you are to make excuses saying I had no choice but to do so while not repenting of your sins!
It’s no good although you justify and glorify your wrongdoings. Rather, you will be more arrogant and shameless and let it corrupt you by your sin. What are you going to do when you are as good as a dead body while persisting in excusing yourself like that?
We have to get rid of bad habits by repenting of your sin, not permitting it when your wrongdoings are exposed. Such a person truly loves himself.
Seok-Jeon Yoon
Extracted from Yonsei Newspaper #441 (July 4, 2015)
