Letter to the Congregations: 25th January 2025

Our Dear Brethren,

“We grope for the wall like the blind, and we grope as if we had no eyes; we stumble at noonday as at twilight; we are as dead men in desolate places” (Isaiah 59:10).

Having the knowledge of good and evil has caused a lot of pain for mankind. It was a lie about eternal life that led to the eating of the fruit of that tree. The serpent made Adam and Eve believe they could already live forever without consequences. But his false statement (“You will not surely die”) completely contradicts the words from the very mouth of God: “for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die” (Genesis 2:17). Ever since, mankind has mostly walked in darkness under a curse brought on by the choice to follow this deception, struggling and toiling in a world that has mostly living in rebellion to God.

True to His word in the beginning, God reminded His people of the direct connection between sin and death: “The soul who sins shall die” (see Ezekiel 18:4). And also a reminder that repentance is possible: “‘But if a wicked man turns from all his sins which he has committed, keeps all My statutes, and does what is lawful and right, he shall surely live; he shall not die. None of the transgressions which he has committed shall be remembered against him; because of the righteousness which he has done, he shall live. Do I have any pleasure at all that the wicked should die?’ Says the Lord God, ‘and not that he should turn from his ways and live’” (Ezekiel 18:21-23)?

Repentance is this turning to God that Ezekiel was inspired to write about. Repentance is the act of seeking forgiveness from God and turning away from the sin that separates us from Him. The forgiveness we seek, through the blood of Jesus Christ, is our way out of darkness and our way to eternal life. Forgiveness is about reconciliation with both God and man, building up broken relationships. Forgiveness from God is a gift we must ask for in faith, believing that if we repent then God will in fact forgive us. Forgiveness is something we should seek from other people who have been affected by our sins. Our willingness to forgive others directly affects our forgiveness from God. Forgiveness should lead us to desire to further change our lives, forever turning away from sin and darkness, and towards God and His light.

Our love is with you,

Lewis VanAusdle

Pastor, United Church of God

NYC, NJ, CT, Malawi, Zimbabwe