herods can become “holy innocents”
“...Rachel bewailing her children; no comfort for her, since they are no more.” —Matthew 2:18
Why does the Lord permit evil? Why did He allow “the massacre of all the boys two years old and under in Bethlehem and its environs”? (Mt 2:16) One explanation is that He loves the Herods of the world very much and wants to save them all (see 1 Tm 2:4). The suffering of these innocents is the most powerful means in God’s plan of salvation for changing the most hardened Herod-hearts. We see this in the deaths of the martyrs and especially in the sufferings and death of Jesus, the most “holy Innocent” of all.
Why does the Lord permit the abortions of millions of “holy innocents”? One explanation is that He loves those who kill their children and even us who, by our sins, have shared in killing Him (see Rm 5:8). Abortions will be stopped when many of us (not only those directly involved in abortion) stop sinning, stop denying our sins, and start repenting (see 1 Jn 1:8-10). However, if we don’t accept the grace of repentance being poured out through His “holy innocents,” abortions will then stop only when we are stopped through death, judgment, and hell.
On this fourth day of Christmas, repent and allow the Lord to change the Herod in you into holy innocence.
Prayer: Father, in our contraceptive and abortifacient culture, may I choose life by choosing repentance.
Promise: “If we say, ‘We have never sinned,’ we make Him a liar and His word finds no place in us.” —1 Jn 1:10
Praise: The Holy Innocents became the first victims for Jesus Christ. They empower us for holiness and innocence.
Reference: (For a related teaching on Be Holy, For I Am Holy, view, download or order our leaflet on our website.)
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