“You shall be brought down to Hades.” (Luke 10:16).
How frustrated must God get. I mean, God is perfect and eternal and immortal patience. So, I am in no way diminishing the patience of God. But I have been thinking lately about how frustrating it is to watch someone that I care about make decisions about their life that cause them to go astray… After all, when I speak to one of my children with all the love I my heart and all the best intentions for their future, it can be so incredibly frustrating to be rebuffed. It can be so incredibly frustrating to hear from them that they are unwilling to follow the advice that I have for them. Sometimes, the feeling of frustration can reduce me to tears…
And I have been reflecting on the patience of God to endure that not from children – for though He has made us His children, we are not really biological children of God. After all, unlike biological children, we will not one day grow up to potentially be better than our parent after our education and upbringing and the advantages of our life. And unlike biological children we, as children of God, will never ever develop to a point where we could be better than God – our eternal Father… And still, we resist Him. Still, we try to stop ourselves doing what little He asks of us…
And Christ was so sad about this… He said… “Woe to you, Chorazin! woe to you, Bethsaida! for if the mighty works done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago, sitting in sackcloth and ashes. But it shall be more tolerable in the judgement for Tyre and Sidon than for you. And you, Capernaum, will you be exalted to heaven? You shall be brought down to Hades.” (Luke 10:13-16).
People willingly and freely rejected God twenty centuries ago, and they willingly and freely reject Him even today. And the Evil One makes good use of that. He convinces souls to despair. Why confess sins that I will only commit again? What is the point of trying to do better, when my temper is bad no matter what I try? How could I make any difference at all, by trying to sin once less per day? What is the point of holding out and trying to be good when there are so many examples of me stumbling?
And yet, Christ did not berate the sinner who tried and failed. He did not desert the lost sheep. He loved those… He berated the ones who would not try. He was angry with those who make no effort to change.
And I have been thinking about that today, because I do not wish to be sent to Hades, and I do not wish to upset Our Lord. And I think that means that I need to try a little more and change a little more…
For with prayer, I stand on Holy Ground where everything is clear. Here. At the Foot of the Cross.
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