Reflections

So the World Might be Saved

Jesus lived by one abiding rule. He knew that his integrity was the one thing that could not be taken away. His life could be taken, but his integrity could not. Today we are asked to live our lives by that same rule. We must know who we are; and we must adhere to who we are with every ounce of integrity we possess.

We all admire people who have the courage of their convictions. We admire their confidence, and we admire their openness. If we have ever had something to hide we know how difficult it is to feel good about ourselves. There must have been times in all our lives where we have been tempted to deceive, keep something a secret, or simply lay low and hope that problems will blow over. Keeping our integrity intact is not always easy, especially when we have used our own flawed agendas to go by.

Today’s gospel makes reference to an Old Testament Story. Just as Moses used a bronze serpent to remind the Israelites of their sinfulness and steer them towards better choices, so we are asked to look upon Jesus as our guiding light. We are asked to see Jesus’ light in every corner of our lives and make good choices on a daily basis. It might sound easy to make good choices, but so often we disguise our choices, to hide our real motivation, we might not even be aware that we are doing it. The most important clue to making good decisions is to ask whether we would have any qualms about pinning our choices up on a noticeboard under a spotlight. With our choices on public show, how confidently would we face a challenge?  Would our integrity remain intact?

God sent his Son so the world might be saved. We are saved when we continue to make those right choices, remembering that we are not condemned for our bad choices if we can recognise them and move on.