 From today's reading (Wisdom 2:23-3:9) 'God made man imperishable, he made him in the image of his own nature; it was the devil’s envy that brought death into the world, as those who are his partners will discover. But the souls of the virtuous are in the hands of God, no torment shall ever touch them.' This reading gives a perfect insight into our world. It tells us that we were all imperishable before; that God made us perfect, eternal, and yet we have succumbed to the devil's envy and turned to the devil's ways. For people without faith or for those who perhaps struggle with faith this can seem like the stuff of fairytales or perhaps even plain nonsense. But the truth is, this is not nonsense. In fact it gets to the core of our very being. We are made for eternity. And we will live for eternity. But the devil with his sinful ways has given us an alternative when it comes to eternity; the eternal fire of hell. Where do you want to be? Do you want to be among the virtuous and in the hands of God? Or do you want to be with the devil, living in torment for eternity? It's a stark choice and there is no easy way of putting it. It's the biggest decision you will ever make; of that there is no doubt. We would do well to choose very wisely and with the grace of wisdom there can only ever be one winner.... |
