When We Sin

“I do not understand my own actions because I do not do what I want to. But I do the very thing that I hate. … I can will what is right but I cannot do it. For I do not do the good that I want, but the evil I do not want is what I do. Now, if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I who does it but the sin that dwells within me. … O Wretched man that I am. Who will rescue me from this body of death, from this life of sin? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord”—St. Paul to the Romans

St. Paul, like the rest of us, wasn’t perfect. He was tempted by sin and at times obviously gave in to that temptation. He understood that God looks for obedience and not perfection. That when we fail that we have a loving Savior that we could turn to: Christ Jesus.

We should be encouraged by St. Paul’s words and not hold our failures against ourselves but to turn to Christ and ask for forgiveness and then move on never looking back at those failures. Remember the words of St. John: “If we confess our sins, He (Christ Jesus) is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1John 1:9).

May The Peace of Christ Be With You