May the Lord bless you with grace, peace, and health in the Holy Spirit.
It is on 15th February 2022.
We reflect on James 1:12-18 / Mark 8:14-21
Born sinful is not our mistake but to remain in it is the blunder we all make inadvertently.
St. James admonishes us not to blame God for entertaining temptation in our life. Perception generates thoughts; thoughts entertain behaviours; behaviours behove evil actions. No one is immunized of temptations including Jesus. That does not mean that the temptations have the final say in our life. We all can overcome any temptation to be distracted and disconnected from God.
Temptations have tentative friends and fleeting feelings. Afraid of temptations pave the way to have frequent service. Blaming the external forces could be escapism and refusing to take responsibility for our participation
Whether we accumulate contact with people or correspond with material things, it boosts and fertilizes the mind to entertain temptations.
It is the constant awareness of the presence of Christ in every moment of our life, we handle the lure of temptations whether it is spiritual or material.
Walking away from God happens by our inappropriate desires.
Sin is the yeast of our souls. It corrupts and corrodes our core being gradually and builds the altars that frequently offer the incense of evil to appease the devil.
Being open and alert to the will of God is the perception we all need. Our double standard of living, personal vengeance and hatred towards others could easily trap us to sin. Our preoccupation with what we want to achieve and benefit out of a situation and person is a primary contributor to benumb our awareness of God.
May the Lord help us to thrash out the temptations head-on rather than blaming God, our time, and our relationships. God bless you.