In all these (and more), my joy is not so much in what he has and continues to do for me, unworthy as I am.  No, my joy is in the One who has given me such marvelous signs of love. My joy is in the Lord! Jesus as Lord and Savior is my joy!  Mary expressed this faith realization in words which should be our standard: “My being proclaims the greatness of the Lord, my spirit finds joy in God my Savior” (Lk 1:46-47). Or in the words of St. Paul: “Rejoice in the Lord always! I say it again. Rejoice!” (Phil 4:4).

To really and fully appreciate this faith/fact–that Jesus is my Lord and Savior–I need to look at sin and its consequences, to look at when Jesus is not accepted as my joy.

The truth is that we are created in the image and likeness of God. We are chosen by God in Christ to be holy, blameless in his sight, to be full of love, to be his adopted sons and daughters, so as to praise him for ever in glory. Because of this, my heart is restless and empty. I can fill it with material things or temporary pleasure or I can fill it with God  until it rests  fully and forever in and with God, the beginning and end of my life.

Though the dream and plan of God was that we come into the world as his sons and daughters, tragically and unfortunately, through the sin of Adam of Eve we come into the world as merely as creatures  Because of this sin we are born in alienation, separated from relationship with God. As Psalm 51 states: “Indeed, in guilt was I born, and in sin my mother conceived me” (Ps 51:7). By nature I am created in the image and likeness of God, body, soul and spirit with knowledge and free will. Because I am a spiritual being, I will live eternally. To the original sin is added my own personal sins, freely chosen. Again Psalm 51 acknowledges this reality. “For I acknowledge my offense, and my sin is before me always. Against you only have I sinned, and done what is evil in your sight” (Ps 51:5-6).  Remaining in this state of alienation, if I die without salvation, I would live  eternally alienated from God in nothingness.  This undeniable truth will be clearly branded into my mind: I am meant for God, but because of my personal sins added to separation from birth, I will know the hell of existence without God. (To be continued)