Original Goodness, Original beauty, Original peace, Original harmony, Original unity, Original health, Original blessing, Original holiness. The Bible and the Church teach that when God created the world, including man, that he not only said that it was good, but” very good.” Before man sinned the Garden of Eden was a utopian environment where there was no physical, mental or spiritual illness, no death. There was just life, beauty, goodness, happiness and joy. If there were tears, they were tears of overwhelming happiness and joy, not of grief or sadness.
The story of Creation is followed by the Fall of Man due to his voluntary choice to disobey God. When he disobeyed the Creator, man brought evil into the world. Ugliness, disharmony, falsehood, even death became realities. Our Original Parents were fooled by Satan, yet the sin was not Satan’s, it was theirs. When we sin, we cannot blame Satan. It is very important to be aware of the temptation to sin, so that we can reject it.
There is good news. God became one of us in Jesus Christ, who defeats Satan and frees us from the bondage of sin and death. Through the Passion of Jesus, his life, death, and resurrection, we are rescued and restored to Original Goodness. By a choice to disobey God, evil came into the world. Through Jesus Christ and his obedience to God, we are freed from Satan and restored to eternal life.
Old habits die hard. Our tendency to sin and sinful habits are not easily overcome. It is a mystery that when we are rescued from the captivity of Satan, that we continue to sin. Time is required to learn to live the teachings of Jesus and his way of life. Living out our Original Goodness takes a lifetime. In God’s love for us he gave us the same freewill bestowed on Adam and Eve. How else could we choose to love? Even though we are rescued and restored to our Original Goodness, we can still choose to sin, disobey God. Satan, while defeated is not destroyed and is able to continue to tempt and lie to us.
Yet we have a new power, given to us by Jesus Christ, to discern the will of God, reject the temptation to sin, and live holy lives. We are rescued and restored to our Original Goodness and beauty, but not without the tendency to sin. With this new power we journey to become like Jesus, who is our destiny. Eventually we will experience total unity with Christ, living with him forever in heaven. We sometimes fall, repent and are forgiven, until the day when living in complete intimacy with him, we will no longer have the need for forgiveness. We will have reached our destiny, our Original Goodness.
“May the Lord bless and keep you. May he let his face shine upon you, be gracious to you and give you his peace.”
