By John Merigian
The person who sins shall die. A child shall not suffer for the iniquity of a parent, nor a parent suffer for the iniquity of a child; the righteousness of the righteous shall be his own, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be his own.
But if the wicked turn away from all their sins that they have committed and keep all my statutes and do what is lawful and right, they shall surely live; They shall not die. None of the transgressions that they have committed shall be remembered against them; for the righteousness that they have done they shall live. Have I any pleasure in the death of the wicked, says the Lord God, and not rather that they should turn from their ways and live?
Ezekiel 18: 20 – 23
It is clear from this passage that everyone is responsible to God for their actions. All of us will have to give an account to God, and all of us must take responsibility for our sins. St. Paul, in his writings, compares the Christian life to a runner in a race. All runners determine their finish in their race. For us as Christians, victory in our race determines where we will spend eternity. That determination is up to us. If we turn away from sin as often as we realize it in our lives, God is merciful and will forgive us our sins. That is simply what it means to repent: to turn away from our sins. God’s greatest desire is to have us turn from sin and live.
Let us pray with St. Gregory:
I shall never stop judging my condemned self with anguished words,
or reproaching myself for my sins.
I am a daily cause of grief to my maker, slow in observing my promises,
fainthearted in the necessary and useful, an unfaithful and ungrateful servant.
Woe to my sinful soul, for I have angered my creator.
But a small teardrop from my eye
can cause an entire evil platoon of the Tempter’s army to shrink away,
and the faint groan of a sighing heart,
rising from the soul,
is like a warm southerly breeze, mixed with sun,
that melts the fiercest blizzard, for like storms,
they are easily borne, and when opposed, quickly die.
Forgive me Lord, for all my sins.
Amen
Prayer 7 A, B
