WHAT A SIMPLE SOLUTION!

 
"How great a sin can You forgive?" I asked You in one of my darkest moments.

"Until this day, no one has committed a sin so great that I am unable to pardon it," answered a soft, loving voice.

"Then how much merit," I mumbled haltingly, "must one earn to win Your glance?"

"The merits of all people put together are not enough to win even a sideways glance from Me," reverberated the response.

"Then how can I ever hope to see You?" I stammered despairingly.

"What!" I heard a ripple of laughter filled with compassion. "Don't be stupid! It is simple!"

I was shocked and surprised, and emboldened myself to ask, "What do You mean, 'simple'? Are You joking with me?"

"No, it's really very simple!"

This confounded me all the more. I cried within my heart, "I don't understand what You mean. And I am also amazed. Where does this voice come from?"

The answer came, "It is from the fathomless depth within you, My child, where you are not, but I am. May I go now?"

"Please don't leave me in this state of anguish and confusion. You said, 'It's simple,' but what is the secret that will open my heart to this simplicity?"

Your voice deepened and became increasingly profound. "The secret is: why think of sin? Why think of merit? Just think of Me! Am I not the Most Intimate One, the Most Compassionate One within you? Bye!"

With these words, the voice receded within me totally. This gracious assurance, however, continues to ring in my ears, nay, my entire being:

What a simple solution!
But how difficult to live it!