Conversion is positive!
Fr. Cheriyan Menacherry CMI
Convert from? to? “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.” (Mt 4:17): the first public speech, of Jesus Christ. For decoration a woman cut a beautiful sunflower from the garden and with joy placed it in the living room in a vase. And hope to gaze always at the radiating and smiling face of the sunflower with its illuminating yellow hues. After some time, she noted that the sunflower turning its face to the other direction to see the sun.
As the sunflower spontaneously turn to direction of the sun, a human being must turn away from his/her dark selfishness and must turn to Christ, the true Light, the real source of our joy. The sunflowers seek always the light. Their gaze constantly follows the course of the sun. The turning of the sunflower towards the sun is not only once in a day, week, month or year but constantly every moment. The sunflowers have the desire always to see the sun and have the eternal thirst for the light.
Each moment of our life must be a conversion from the darkness to the true Light Jesus Christ. Then the prophet Isaiah will be quite right: “They will turn their faces upward, or they will look to the earth, but will see only distress and darkness, the gloom of anguish; and they will be thrust into thick darkness. But there will be no gloom for those who were in anguish. In the former time he brought into contempt the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, but in the latter time he will make glorious the way of the sea, the land beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the nations. The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who lived in a land of deep darkness –on them light has shined. You have multiplied the nation, you have increased its joy; they rejoice before you” (Is 8:21-9:3).
The titanic ships cut their course through the mighty waves in all directions in the fearful oceans. But the pointer of the compass in the ship turns always to north. So, also persons in all their life situations must turn always to God to get the ideal direction for the correct goal of life.