God Even Uses Our Sins

We don’t need to be a theologian to know that sin is not good. Just look around, look at history, look at our own life. Sin is not good. The Catechism reminds us that “sin is an offense against reason, truth, and right conscience; it is failure in genuine love for God … it  wounds the nature of man and injures human solidarity. Sin is an offense against God. “ (CCC 1849-1851) 

How many sins are committed in one day in 2023…in one hour… in one second, and look at the effects of these sins…. awful. Think of all the sin since the beginning of the world… overwhelming. Yet it doesn’t end there. “The sacrifice of Christ secretly becomes the source from which the forgiveness of our sins will pour forth inexhaustibly.” (CCC 1851). In Christ our sins can be transformed….”O happy fault, O necessary sin of Adam, which gained for us so great a Redeemer!” (Exultet, The Easter Proclamation)

When we receive the mercy of God in the forgiveness of our sins, we can be transformed. Conviction of sin and forgiveness can lead to true repentance, to a true change of direction…. a new life…. a life centered around Christ. In Christ sin doesn’t have the last word…. it can even play a role in our sanctification. 

I’m struck by the transformation of Peter as he moves through the curtain of his terrible betrayal of the Lord. Prior to that moment he was self-confident, presumptuous, impulsive .… yet after sinning and then receiving mercy from the Lord, this broken man became a man of humility and kindness and real strength. Could Peter have led the church without the transformation that occurred thru his brokenness due to his sin and then the healing that came about thru the death and resurrection of the Lord. Is this another example of “O Happy Fault”?

I’m struck by the words of Peter as he led the Church thru its early days. He speaks with the tenderness of a father with his children… a care and concern for their welfare… a certain kindness. He refers to himself as a servant of equal standing, exhorting all to “make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love…… reminding the brothers and sisters that this keeps you from being ineffective and unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ .…. therefore as long as I am in this body, (I will) arouse you by way of reminder, since I know that the putting off of my body will be soon, as our Lord Jesus Christ showed me….. so after my departure you may be able at any time to recall these things. (2 Peter 1:1-15 )

In these words of Peter, you see the affection of a father for his children, looking to guard them, giving them instructions so they can do well after he leaves them. Sin is not good…is never good, but the Lord can even use our past sins to transform us as he did with Peter. Peter was transformed from the rough fisherman to the kind and compassionate and strong ROCK… the leader of Christ’s church.

So let us not be discouraged when we fall.  Be reminded that the Lord can even use our failings to transform us. And that is very good news.