Notes for14 January 2025

For two thousand years of the Christian history many were said and written about sin. Quite as about the fight against it. And even before the coming in the world of the Christ, they also spoke about it. Nevertheless, often in the past, as today it is about sin, as a violation of the moral norms. Or as a source of evil to the neighbor. And however the author of the message pays attention on something else: he speaks about an evil and unbelieving heart, which separates man from God.

He says what on one hand seems obvious, and on the other - returns us to this notion of sin, which could be called initially biblical. The biblical books were not written at all by philosophers - moralists. And the authors of the biblical books found sin as evil not because sinful acts contradict certain moral norms, even if established by God. For, God Himself is not also a moralist. He hates sin not because for man to be moral is good and worthy, or, in any case, is not only for that.

Of course, sin deforms in man the image of God, and God can’t be happy with that. But the most horrible is somewhere else: sin separates man from God. And more horrible here is the fact that God can do nothing of it. Man is free, and God respects his freedom. And if this free man, abusing his freedom, builds between him and God a wall of personal sins and their consequences, it remains nothing for God to do, as to wait for repentance and a new conversion. Here is, this wall is the most horrible thing that sin can bring to man. And not because all the rest is not important.

It is just that God can deal with the rest, if only man allows Him that. And here is, only man himself is fit to break this wall. But for that one needs a firm determination, what is impossible for man, whose heart is penetrated by sin or for whom faithfulness is of lack. Because conversion is above all, the change of the spiritual direction of his heart, as say the modern psychologists, the intention. And this new intention must be quite deep and stable; otherwise the wall of the sin can’t be pierced, or broke. And then should be forgotten the new conversion and the spiritual renovation. If not for ever, then for a long time.