LET’S BE AWAKE AND SOBER

The Holy Bible says, “Submit to God, resist the devil and he will run away from you.”  (James 4: 7)

PART I

When an evil spirit goes out of a person, it travels over dry country looking for a place to rest.  If it can’t find one it says to itself, ‘I will go back to my house.’ So it goes back and finds the house empty, clean and all tidy.  Then it goes out and brings along seven other spirits even worse than itself and they come and live there.  So when it is all over that person is in a worse state than he was at the beginning.  This is what will happen to the evil people of this day. (Matthew 12:43-45)

A life excluding Jesus is valueless; something the devil too would not be interested in. But the moment we are united with the Lord Jesus, satan will have his eyes fixed on us and will plan ways to deviate us from our Savior.

Just like a robber who comes to steal some valuable possession, so does the devil, the enemy of the Kingdom of God and God’s children; comes to rob us from the Precious Blessings of Salvation.

Through the above parable, Lord Jesus teaches that when a devil is driven out; God creates a contrite heart through forgiveness of sins and the heart is set free. So it is utmost important that we recognize that the occupancy of the heart is vacant and accept Jesus as Savior and Lord venerate and reign Him in the centre of your heart.

Lord Jesus compares the heart of a person who lives in union with God to that of a neatly arranged home. It is clean and beautifully arranged with all its furniture in order. A well ventilated space; it gives the required light, while the breeze of freshness purifies it. Everyone is attracted and welcome to it and feels at place.

When we set up a disciplined spiritual life, the exterior beauty gets relevant too.

Such an orderly and closely controlled life, subjected to alertness in prayer, resisting the devil is a blessing from God, giving us hope to do well.

On the other hand, the evil spirit who left the person, tired from wandering in dry places and pushed out from everywhere is always on the lookout for an opportunity to return to the ‘now perfected’ home. He will be excited to see the heart without the Master. As said above, his intention is only to rule and destroy us.

Many people accept Jesus as Lord and Savior, when they are enlightened with the knowledge of truth. They promise themselves that they will progress in Spiritual Life, read the Holy Bible regularly, make time for personal prayer and confession, attend Holy Mass, partake in prayer meetings and works of charity etc.

After few months, they begin to waver in their resolutions and begin to prioritize other works over their spiritual Life, leading to more laziness as days progress, and finally giving it all up, unaware that the devil is at the corner all ready for return. When Jesus the personal Savior, is not given the due honor and reverence, we tend to ignore His voice and lead a cold life propelling us to postpone daily spiritual activities. The unholy spirit grabs this opportunity, and gains easy reentry into their life  bringing alongwith it seven other evil ones, to destruct, ruin, create chaos in their life and put off even the little burning flame of faith.

This parable is a wake-up call for such individuals. Though it does not elaborate on the characters of an individual, it is all about a heart kept ready to welcome someone.

                                                                        (to be continued….)

With love filled blessings,

Your Sister in Christ