ALPHA MAAMA (A.M.)

 SAPATE ‘EPELELI 19, 2026

1 TU’I 21-22; ‘EKISOTO 34:6-7

The only hope for real sinners is real divine mercy.

Ko e ‘amanaki pe ‘e taha ma’ae kau angahala mo’onia, ko e meesi mo’oni ‘a e ’Otua.

Sin is real, it is destructive, and it always leads to death. Sin is humanity's greatest pandemic. No one escapes it. No mere human has ever defeated it. Systems of personal reform do not weaken its power. Every human being is born with this grave spiritual sickness and, apart from divine intervention, will carry it to the tomb. Sin rears its ugly head in your thoughts and desires. Sin colors your communication, both how you speak and how you listen. Sin corrupts every relationship, creating conflict where peace should dwell. Sin causes you either to deny God's existence or to rage against his rule. Sin makes us self-absorbed, self-righteous, and self-defensive. Sin makes us want to control more than to serve. Sin turns everything into an idol, as we fail to be in awe of the one who desires our worship. Sin is more deeply sinful than we can imagine-and that is why God's grace is more deeply essential than we tend to think. No matter how much you minimize your sin, you will still live under its power apart from divine intervention.

God's mercy is a constant theme of the biblical narrative. Again and again, as we read, we are confronted with real sin and real mercy. Sometimes you have to ask yourself, "How can God be so patient? How can he be so kind? Will his mercy ever run out?" You find one of those radical moments of mercy in 1 Kings 21:25-29:

(There was none who sold himself to do what was evil in the sight of the LORD like Ahab, whom Jezebel his wife incited. He acted very abominably in going after idols, as the Amorites had done, whom the LORD cast out before the people of Israel.)

And when Ahab heard those words, he tore his clothes and put sackcloth on his flesh and fasted and lay in sackcloth and went about dejectedly. And the word of the LORD came to Elijah the Tishbite, saying, "Have you seen how Ahab has humbled himself before me? Because he has humbled himself before me, I will not bring the disaster in his days." It's important to pay attention to how Ahab is described. He "sold himself to do what was evil in the sight of the LORD.... He acted very abominably in going after idols." Not only was Ahab a wicked man, but in his wickedness and idolatry he encouraged others to be the same. You would think that God would exercise his righteous judgment against this evil king, but this is not where the story goes. Ahab has a moment of grief and contrition over his sin, and God's response is to treat him with mercy rather than judgment.

This passage points us to the cross of Jesus Christ. The cross is the ultimate demonstration that sin is real and has consequences, but also that God's mercy is real and will ultimately triumph over judgment. Because sin is the bad news we have to accept, grace is the good news we all need to hear and believe. No one is without a need for grace. No one.