None of these gifts really belonged to human beings. God added them over and above the gift of human life along with the natural human powers of the body and soul. At any time He could take away these extra gifts, and man would still have all that naturally belonged to him. God left it up to Adam to decide whether he and his children were to keep these extra gifts forever. As the representative of the human race, Adam was to make one intelligent and free act, an act of obedience to God's Will. By this act he would be acknowledging the supreme truth of his existence - that he is a creature completely dependent on God, his Creator.
In disobeying God command in the Garden of Eden, Adam refused to acknowledge the supreme truth. The external act of eating the fruit was a small act, but the interior rebellion against God's Will was a serious matter. Adam wanted to be equal to God, as the rebel angels did in Paradise. As a result of Adam's disobedience, God took away His extra gifts. Man was left without the aid of God extra gifts, except that he might still obtain grace to earn Heaven.
Man now has to bear an inner conflict, a conflict quite natural to him. His animal appetites now go after their wants without regard for his better judgment and free will. Even when man wishes to follow his intelligence and strive after better things, he has to fight for control of his unreasoning appetites and blind desires. He no longer has infused knowledge, but must learn the answers to his daily problems by labour and experience.
So often this interior conflict brings confusion to the mind and indecision to the will. Yet man's natural reason is still able to judge good and evil, still able to distinguished truth from falsehood. To save us from all serious doubts, God had given us, Jesus Christ, the Church to guide our mind and strengthen our will.
As long as we have a human body on earth, we cannot be entirely free from venial sins, nor can we live without some sorrow and weariness. Yet, we must do our best with patience and determination, regardless of failures. All too soon this present state of disorder will pass away. Then will our earthly life melt away into the perfect life which God had promised to those who keep His commandments.
Adam passed on to his descendants the human nature which he himself possessed - a nature that was weakened by his disobedience. A large part of man's weakness lies in this, that after the Fall, man's animal nature retained its normal strength and appetites, but was no longer under the perfect control of man's higher power of reason and free-will. God, however, made up for this weakness by giving us His grace. By the use of God's grace, man can avoid fully deliberate sins, and thus become once more the master of his life.
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Sunday, May 24, 2009
I have through years of reading, pondering, reflecting and contemplating, the 3 things that last; FAITH . HOPE . LOVE and I would like to made available my sharing from the many thinkers, authors, scholars and theologians whose ideas and thoughts I have borrowed. God be with them always. Amen!
I STILL HAVE MANY THINGS TO SAY TO YOU BUT THEY WOULD BE TOO MUCH FOR YOU NOW. BUT WHEN THE SPIRIT OF TRUTH COMES, HE WILL LEAD YOU TO THE COMPLETE TRUTH, SINCE HE WILL NOT BE SPEAKING AS FROM HIMSELF, BUT WILL SAY ONLY WHAT HE HAS LEARNT; AND HE WILL TELL YOU OF THE THINGS TO COME.
HE WILL GLORIFY ME, SINCE ALL HE TELLS YOU WILL BE TAKEN FROM WHAT IS MINE. EVERYTHING THE FATHER HAS IS MINE; THAT IS WHY I SAID: ALL HE TELLS YOU WILL BE TAKEN FROM WHAT IS MINE. - JOHN 16:12-15 -
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