ah Satan ya stinker …

When I was a child, my parents would sometimes have long conversations with me that often concluded with an extensive grounding and consequence for me. These conversations often led to feelings of discouragement, where instead of making an effort to climb out of the hole I had dug for myself by dishonoring my parents, I would choose to continue to dig the hole further away from repentance by continuing to rebel against their instruction. These low points exist for most of us where we choose the easier path of sitting stagnant in our sin only to complain about our mistakes. While the honorable course of action would be to make a conscious decision to identify our sin, understand that it’s destructive, ask God to forgive us, and turn to better ways. What kept me from going to my parents and requesting their forgiveness boils down to pride, which is exactly why Satan was unable to go to God to seek redemption. In order to be truly remorseful, we must have a humble heart which is what Satan was lacking. Choosing a life of bitterness and complaining about our present state achieved by our sinful nature leads to feelings of defeat where we often feel like we are unequipped of recovery, so we simply just continue down a continuous path of sin. “By change of place: Now conscience wakes despair, that slumbered; wakes the bitter memory of what he was, what is, and what must be worse; of worse deeds worse sufferings must ensue. That bring to my remembrance from what state I fell, how glorious one above the sphere; till pride and worse ambition threw me down” (Milton, 75-76). Satan is choosing to complain over the events of his sin, rather than to take the necessary steps that could have led to redemption. “Satan, now first inflamed with rage came down, the tempter ere the accuser of mankind, to wreak on innocent frail man his loss of that first battle, and his flight to Hell” (Milton, 75). Satan finds himself concluding that his only course of action is dedicating his life to evil. He chooses to from then on devote himself to dividing God’s most beloved creation because he doesn’t have the power to destroy God himself. Satan is miserable and we all know the saying “misery loves company,” so his mission is to distract as many people as he can from God, so they suffer the same consequences that he faces. We know when we choose sin over God that we will suffer the consequences and Satan knew before desiring to overthrow God that God would reign supreme because he knew his justice so closely. Yet, he did it anyway. Satan also knew the compassion and mercy of God, yet still chose a tragic eternity away from God and all that is good. So often I have chosen to entertain sin and my pride, rather than pursuing a heart of humility and honoring a jealous God with my whole heart. Wow it’s humbling to compare my struggles with that of evil himself. 

I am super confused regarding that Heaven and everything associated with God including his followers are known for their lack of sin. What makes Heaven a desirable place for all of us is its perfection because we live in a world that knows no perfection. I do not understand how the Rebellion and sinful acts of Satan even were able to form in a heavenly place.

I commented on Moriah Nelson and Madison Flower’s blogs.