Renewing life 

What did we lose that we always have this existential need to recover something we feel we are missing?

The profound losses in life do not begin in the course of our earthly history, but much earlier. If we consider all its dimensions, the loss caused to humanity by the first sin committed by Adam and Eve (Genesis 3), we would agree that it is perhaps the most dramatic, since it is the beginning of all the others. The relationship of common union and friendship with the Creator, the ability to do good naturally, the sense of recognizing the importance of need in the other, among others. The dramatic shock of that first fall made us fear life, death, ourselves and others. The deep pain that this human action produced is clearly described when we see a perfect God who repents (Genesis 6:6) of having created those whom he devised to love and to be loved by them. Certainly the restoration of fallen humanity must have been first on the agenda of a divinity for whom "giving up" is not in the nature of his character (Malachi 3:6-7).

Thousands of centuries of history, prophecies and acceptance that human beings could not save themselves through sacrifices, rites and laws, preceded this plan to rescue life. Full restoration had to come from the root of the problem, so the solution had to come through a human being bearing all that responsibility for the greatest human error (Romans 8:3-4; 5:12-21). And Jesus came to us with an unequivocal action of restitution and salvation! Through him, life in its fullness becomes new and life-giving. Human existence is renewed in every dimension of being. Through the work of his Holy Spirit, and in the face of a fresh, simple and natural faith, fear is replaced by trust, selfishness by a common union with otherness and useless guilt by responsibility towards one's own life process and towards humanity.

Those of us who have lived this experience, that it turns us into full and hopeful beings, know that life is renewed with the arrival of a new beginning. We feel that we find what we lost. The most wonderful thing is that this "renewal of life" is a living, dynamic and constant process. Every awakening of ours is a reminder to our persons of the divine and trinitarian presence that makes us new every instant "... his mercies are new (i.e., renewed) every morning, great is his faithfulness" (Lamentations 3:23). God's goodness extends like a mantle of mercy, so that whenever we look to Him and His redemptive work, He saves, restores and heals us from everything that sin again tries to break in us. Our life is renewed every time we encounter Him, never to be lost (John 3:16). As Lent begins, use this season as a time to renew your life with the help of the Holy Spirit.     

Dr. Maricarmen Laureano is an international speaker and itinerant preacher. As a Psychologist-Quality of Life Educator, she is dedicated to communicate, teach and encourage people and churches to heal in order to improve their lives. For thirty years, she has been a founder and facilitator of Personal Growth and Development Schools. She is married to Pastor Billy Jusino and they both live in Rio Grande, Puerto Rico.