Evil is like a blood stain.
"Out, damned spot! Out, I say!" (Macbeth quote, from Act V, Scene I)
If only it were that easy to rid ourselves of our bloody deeds; our gossip, our manipulation of others, our selfishness, and lack of love.
Our evil deeds cannot be justified by speech. Their stench cannot be perfumed by sweet words. They are covered only by the purifying Blood of God's appointed Lamb. The Blood of Jesus washes our stains and gives us life.
St. Maximus of Turin writes:
May God have mercy upon us through the blood of His eternal Son.
Related reading: Jesus' Messianic Priesthood; Jesus' Blood is Restorative; The Scarlet Cord Woven Through the Bible; Jesus Christ in Genesis
"Out, damned spot! Out, I say!" (Macbeth quote, from Act V, Scene I)
If only it were that easy to rid ourselves of our bloody deeds; our gossip, our manipulation of others, our selfishness, and lack of love.
Our evil deeds cannot be justified by speech. Their stench cannot be perfumed by sweet words. They are covered only by the purifying Blood of God's appointed Lamb. The Blood of Jesus washes our stains and gives us life.
St. Maximus of Turin writes:
The divine Scripture always cries out and speaks; hence God also says to Cain, ‘The voice of your brother’s blood cries out to me.’ Blood, to be sure, has no voice, but innocent blood that has been spilled is said to cry out not by words but by its very existence. [It makes] demands of the Lord not with eloquent discourse but with anger over the crime committed. It does not accuse the wrongdoer with words so much as bind him by the accusation of his own conscience. The evil deed may seem to be excused when it is explained away with words. But it cannot be excused if it is made present to the conscience. For in silence and without contradiction the wrongdoer’s conscience always convicts and judges him. (Sermons 88.1, from Andrew Louth, ed., with Marco Conti, Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture: Old Testament I, Genesis 1-11, Downers Grove, IL: IVP, 2001 p. 107.)
May God have mercy upon us through the blood of His eternal Son.
Related reading: Jesus' Messianic Priesthood; Jesus' Blood is Restorative; The Scarlet Cord Woven Through the Bible; Jesus Christ in Genesis
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