Humility and sincerity

We have been learning about the story of the lost son—the one who left home and went on to live his life in a very wasteful way. But when famine came, he lost everything. He looked for a job, but no one would give him anything except a job tending swine.

“But when he came to himself, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired servants have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger! I will arise and go to my father, and will say to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you, and I am no longer worthy to be called your son. Make me like one of your hired servants.’” — Luke 15:17-19

When he hit rock bottom, he came to his senses and realized that the situation he was in was not right. So, he went back to his father. What he did showed humility and sincerity. He realized that he was wrong and did not blame anyone else.

Humility and sincerity are very important in finding forgiveness, reconciliation, and salvation. Some people spend their entire lives inside the church and die without salvation because they lack humility and sincerity. Their prayers become merely religious rituals; they have no true communion with God and no genuine relationship with Him.

God wants to have a true relationship with us. Though we cannot see Him, we can speak to Him through prayer, and He can speak to us as we meditate on His Word. Through His Holy Spirit, He lives in us. And we need humility and sincerity in order to be reconciled with God.

Being a churchgoer and having a sincere and meaningful relationship with God, are two different things. Many people go to church simply as a religious practice, but they do not put into practice what they learn from the Word of God.

You are a soul, and your soul will live forever. Where will your soul be after you die—heaven or hell? Jesus came, died on the cross, and offered Himself as a sacrifice to redeem us from our sins, because sin separates us from God.

Moreover, in order to receive forgiveness, a person must also forgive others.

“For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.” — Matthew 6:14-15