Action or Acknowledgement

T

rue faith should become an integral part of one’s thinking. It should permeate one’s heart and mind. Everything—one’s thoughts and desires, one’s love and fear should be subordinated to one’s faith. This is the supreme degree of faith. One who is of such faith is protected by God in this world, and one who is provided with divine protection on earth is sure of it in the hereafter.

There are other believers who do both good and evil, but they admit their faults. Hopefully, God will forgive them, for He is forgiving and merciful.

The strong in faith act according to their belief, but those who are weaker in their faith cannot achieve such consistency in thought, word and deed. They, too, will receive God’s eternal blessings, but to do so, they should show contrition and not persist in their errors; they should openly admit their faults and not try to justify them; they should confess their guilt instead of trying to explain it away; they should show no signs of irritation when their faults are pointed out, but should bow in acquiescence; they should make up, with tears of humble entreaty, for what they lack in virtue. Those who do not even have this much to offer cannot expect forgiveness from God.