Power of Conversion

“Then the LORD said to Elijah the Tishbite,
‘Have you seen that Ahab has humbled himself before me?
Since he has humbled himself before me,
I will not bring the evil in his time.’”

1 Kings 21:28-29a

When King Ahab was told that because of his disgusting and disgraceful behavior — not only contributing to the death of another but also seizing the decedent’ land, he will be punished and will have to suffer, he repented. Being moved by Ahab’s act of humility, God relented His punishment. The mercy of our God is truly unfathomable and unconditional. This does not mean that sin and evil acts are “okay” or justified, but rather that sin and evil do not have the last word.

There have been times when, I am sure, we have made mistakes, or perhaps said something hurtful that maybe we really did not mean. However, there are also times when we have knowingly done something wrong. Sin is not something that God created to hold us down. In fact, God sent His only begotten Son into the world to be the remedy of sin. We each have our own personal sins, and hopefully we bring them before God at Mass, in prayer, and also in the Sacrament of Reconciliation. We only need to turn to God with humble and contrite hearts and God’s mercy will be extended unto us. What about those people who have been hurt by our sins? If possible and if prudent, we should acknowledge our fault to the other, ask for forgiveness, and seek reconciliation.

Let us take a few moments today, bringing to the Father our moments of weakness and sins, asking for forgiveness, and giving thanks for having been so loved. If it has been a while since we have gone to confession, let’s make it a goal to go this week. God’s mercy is boundless, we only need to desire it, seek it, and receive it.