New Church Life July/Aug 2013 | Page 56

n e w c h u r c h l i f e : j u ly / au g u s t 2 0 1 3 them because the Lord does not allow them to inundate us beyond what we can bear. (See Arcana Coelestia 741, 751) Taking a serious look at ourselves, insofar as we invited these images, we need to condemn ourselves for them. Not saying that we are condemned to hell, but admitting that we really are responsible for them. Knowing their impact on our spouses, our children, and in a broader sense on our neighbors and society, we need to pray to the Lord for forgiveness. In doing so we recognize that we cannot fight this battle without His Divine help. We need to desist from them. That means shutting them out of our daily life. But we also need to shun those images that have already become a destructive part of us through lust. If we are unclear about the evil and tend to delude ourselves that it is not harmful, then that state needs to be addressed with reflection and prayer. And if we are so drawn to the evil that we despair of breaking its hold upon us, we need to remember that with sincere prayer, together with serious and determined repentance, even the lust of adultery itself can be overcome. In Providence the Lord will guard conjugial love as the pupil of His eye. But He can only do so in response to our free choices. It is for us to allow Him to uphold conjugial love with His infinite Divine power, which is always ready to help. about the author The Rev. Robert S. Jungé was ordained in 1955 and has been a minister in the General Church for almost 60 years. Among his assignments have been Secretary of the General Church, Principal of the Bryn Athyn Church School, Instructor at the Academy of the New Church, and Dean of the Theological School. He was pastor in Denver, Colorado, founding pastor of the Ivyland New Church, and interim pastor of the Kempton Society, both of the latter in Pennsylvania. He has been a visiting pastor in the Western United States, West Africa, Japan and Korea, central Pennsylvania, and Baltimore, Maryland. He and his late wife, Vera, have seven children, 24 grandchildren and 12 great-grandchildren. He lives in retirement in Kempton. Contact: [email protected] 384