A thought at the start of a new year

We are less than a week into this new year. Something which I have been reflecting on which I want to post here on the blog is a thought about approaching life in this new year of Our Lord 2011. Several years ago, I wrote in my personal journal that I believe that the Lord had impressed upon my mind the words :"Abandon your sin."

I have pondered what it really means to abandon sin. Something which happens very rarely around the metro Detroit where I live is a sudden, heavy rainstorm in which the rain comes down so quickly, it overwhelms the ability of pumps to remove water from the local expressways. When that happens, the below ground level roadways become a system of slowly rising man-made rivers. There have been a few times when I have seen on the local news that during such times, people had to abandon their cars or face being drowned. At such times, to stay with your car could be a death sentence. To live, you must abandon.

I think our sin is like this. If we stay with it, we will die in it. Like our cars, our sins often reflect our tastes and our choices. We don't give up easily something in which we have invested time and money. Yet, when the flood comes and starts to overwhelm your car, the decision must be made. Risk staying with the car and face possible drowning or leave the car and ensure your life will be spared.

The danger of sin is not always as obvious as water rising alongside your car during a flash rainstorm. But the effects are just as sure. So, in this very new year of 2011, I will be reflecting on the sins which I need to abandon. Ask yourself what you need to abandon in 2011. Don't wait for the quick and unexpected storms of life to abandon those sins in your life which need to abandoned and left behind.

Happy New Year from the School of the Solitary Place!!!