Not even if you drive a Tesla

It’s easy to think that, the more religious/spiritual we are, the less we sin/mess up.

It can seem like this, especially if we’re new to church - maybe we’re called back later in life after a few decades of being away (yes, I’m talking about myself here). We go back and it can feel like we’re super-duper holy now. Life is gonna be a breeze because - doggone it - we finally came to our senses and got right with the ‘Lawd.

This isn’t what we see when we dig into the Good Book (I know a lot of you more seasoned folks out there are totally laughing at me right now - and that’s okay)…

This human propensity to muck things up (aka sin) is not something that can ever be completely healed or eradicated. Not through prayer; not by baptism; not through yoga; not through adopting a vegan diet; not by composting; not even by driving a Tesla.

Sin is universal. It’s baked into the human condition. We know what we should think and do, but besides occasional fleeting moments here and there, we find it pretty much impossible to do so.

Sin is never healed.
It is forgiven.

When grace intervenes, sin isn’t vanquished, it’s just looked at differently. The spotlight shines on it and we see it for what it is. Out of hiding, it no longer controls us from the shadows.

Grace robs sin of its total power.

However, we live with sin until we croak. Yes, it sucks. But it’s also what makes up the grand human comedy. It is what feeds the absurdity that makes up the best novels, movies, songs, and poems.

We’re only here in this human form for a short while (as far as we know). We might as well find fascination and wonder in our condition rather than trying to achieve the impossible by trying to root sin out by works - which is just another illusion that sin hides in.

Grace & Godspeed,
Jonas