The devil came to destroy but Jesus came to restore (Friday, Week 5, Year 1)

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Introduction

In John 10:10, Jesus says that the devil comes to steal, kill and destroy; but He has come to give life, life in abundance; to restore what has been damaged or stolen by the devil. May we open our ears to hear Jesus calling us back to life; may we open our eyes to see the light of His love and mercy; may we open our lips to call out to Him for help when threatened by the devil.


Reflection 

The darkest periods of history have always been those moments we shut out ears from hearing from God, those moments we become deaf to His instructions, those moments we choose not to involve Him in our affairs.

Read about World War 1 and World War 2, and search properly and ask: Where was God in human affairs? Read about Reformation and Counter-Reformation in the history of the Church! When crises overwhelmed the Church with Martin Luther threatening to pull out of the system, I can’t remember having read anywhere that the Church sought the face of God in the midst of those crises. Any time we are shaken by crisis, the devil will surely have the upper hand if we do not involve God – if we fail to listen to Him.

Genesis 3:1-8 gives us an account of the fall of Adam and Eve. When Eve was being drawn away by the crisis of desires occasioned by her interaction with the devil, did she actually care to hear from God or seek clarification from her Maker? One thing led to another: conversation led to desire, desire snowballed into large-scale sin of disobedience; and here we are today still wallowing in the mire of sin. Adam and Eve chose not to listen to God, paid all attention to the devil, fell into sin, and hid from God. 

Jesus has come to fix what has been damaged by the devil, to help us reclaim what the devil stole from us; and to give us life in abundance (cf. Jn. 10:10). Sin happens when we choose to block our ears from hearing from God, and prefer to pay attention to the flesh, the devil and the world. The opening of the ears of the deaf and mute man (cf. Mk. 7:31-37) should signal to us that Jesus has come to restore our sense of hearing and capacity to listen to God all the time. 

God will always walk with us even in those dark moments of temptations, and will always desire to save us even when we have been enveloped in the darkness of sin. If we choose to open up to Him and listen more attentively to His instructions, we will be saved. But we will remain where we are if we consistently choose to shut Him out of our affairs. 




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