I normally don't like to think of myself as a sinner. I don't think anyone does. We know that Jesus came and died on a cross to redeem sinners (ie everyone) but we still don't like to think that necessarily applied to us, at least not on a personal level. Every day in my prayers I pray for sinners but I always think of sinners with a capital S - the rapist, murderers, thieves etc. But truth be told even the sins with the small S causes damage, damage to ourselves to others around us.
Today I was questioning why Jesus would allow certain temptations to come across my path, temptations I find hard to resist. They're often the same sin, maybe in different forms and circumstances but still, even 10 years after converting, they snarl my legs and trip me us in my faith journey repeatedly to the point I'm laying face down in the dirt instead of making much spiritual headway. But then I realized I had been missing an important point. I am not perfect - as much as I wish I was. If I was perfect I would have no need for salvation and no need for Jesus. But I am not perfect. I never will be perfect, but it's the perseverance, the acknowledgment I am a sinner that is one of the steps I need to grow.
When I first converted I thought I'd "magically" become perfect and virtuous, a instant-born saint after the Easter Vigil. Nearly 10 years later Jesus is still trying to teach me that even the saints were not perfect sinless human beings. They were sinners and needed the grace and salvation of Jesus. Surely if the saints need this I need Him even more.
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