By John Larkins
A local doctor recently related (in a newspaper) his experiences with several of his young COVID patients. He first was astounded that they refused to be vaccinated during routine consultations. He was further saddened by the pleas of one of them after she tested positive for the virus and begged to be vaccinated.
“I’m afraid it’s too late,” the doctor replied. “You waited too long.”
The doctor’s patient was intubated, and perhaps she recovered. There are now many cases of unvaccinated young and old persons fatally infected with heavy COVID infections or the variants of that virus.
Eve revealed what has become a hallmark of humans – a boisterous insistence on their defiance of any mandatory restrictions on their freedom to do as they please, ignoring any authoritative restrictions on what they view as their “right.” She is the model for those who believe themselves to be as God, thus knowing all and having power over all things. Satan told Eve that was why God did not want her to eat the fruit of the forbidden tree.
Evidently, not all people are following the path Jesus revealed for us in His inspired scripture. Baptism is a genuine lifelong dedication to following the letter of His commandments while sincerely studying those rules to see how they could be most faithfully followed. Jesus directed that we join, through baptism, his one holy church and follow its teachings.
In 1 Timothy 3:15, Saint Paul establishes the Church as the guide for Christian life for Timothy, “but, if I tarry long, that thou mayest know how thou ought to behave thyself in the house of God, which is the Church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth.” Saint Paul filled his letters to Timothy and all his writings with God-revealed advice to the Catholics in the churches of the Acts of the Apostles, both to the clergy and those in the pews. In this part of the New Testament, we can read about Jesus Christ’s new covenant as conducted by the Apostles that He sent out “As my father sent me,” with all power given them in the universe to convert the world to what would become known as the Catholic Church.
Each of us will eventually decide what we believe to be true and thus what will become a set of our own laws that guide our lives. In that regard, there is no guidance more suitable to human beings than the Bible. While I recognize the almost total lack of knowledge in this place of what important events happened in the past, each of us will still be judged by God by our actions while we live.
When you read the Bible, you must take care that the version you are reading contains the complete words of God, without additions or subtractions or strange interpretations. As a prime example, the New Testament was authentically first written in about 400 A.D. by a Catholic monk named Jerome. This book was compiled from reviewing sacred writings gathered from all the chur-ches that existed at that time. Check this out on the internet or wherever you do your research; the first non-Catholic church was established by Father Martin Lu-ther in the year 1525. Do you understand that would be over 1,000 years in the future? Ponder how non-Catholics could have a legitimate role in editing the New Testament.
Delete the parts of this suggestion you will not use in guarding your spiritual health: God exists. An evil force named Satan exists. God has created us. He gave us a set of laws to follow. He gave us a Church to provide our grace for salvation. There is an eternal life for us after we die on earth. He will judge us at the end of our lives, sending us to eternal life either with Him or Satan. Our destiny will be entirely our own choice. It is not yet too late, but do not wait too long!
As always, let me know if I can help by contacting me at the e-mail address listed below.
For the past 15 years, John Larkins has evangelized on the street, door-to-door, in tent revivals and in church situations. Contact him at johnlarkins@bellsouth.net.