Dear Friends,

A thousand years ago the very rich king of Myanmar (Burma) had a very big problem. His desire to sit on the throne had become so overwhelming that he ended up killing his own father in order to have the seat of power. The insatiable appetite for power was now surpassed by the haunting bitterness of guilt. What to do????

In the kingdom of Bagan in central Myanmar where this took place, Buddhism held a profound sway. It was clearly stated in the teachings of the state religion that guilt could be atoned for by the doing of good works. Good works would earn merit which would then assure a better karma or reincarnation in the life to come.

Of course the greater the guilt, the bigger the work or merit had to be to take care of the debt. Killing one's father is a bit over the top so the smitten son decided to build a huge temple to atone for his sin. The temple took two years to build by many thousands of workmen and had over a million bricks. The subjects readily submitted to all the slave labor because it was felt that if the king built a grand work then merit would also be extended to them.

Although the temple transformed the landscape it did not transform the king's heart. He ended up killing one of his Egyptians wives and a short while later the people from Ceylon and India came and killed him. Such was the price of guilt.

"If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness" (1John 1:9). It does not take a million bricks to atone for our sins. Just a simple cross and a simple prayer. Confess. Believe. Rejoice.

August 4, 2010