23
Rom
8:15). The life of faith, as a filial existence, is
the acknowledgment of a primordial and radical
gift which upholds our lives. We see this clearly in
Saint PaulâÂÂs question to the Corinthians: âÂÂWhat
have you that you did not receive?â (
1 Cor
4:7).
This was at the very heart of PaulâÂÂs debate with
the Pharisees: the issue of whether salvation is
attained by faith or by the works of the law. Paul
rejects the attitude of those who would consider
themselves justified before God on the basis of
their own works. Such people, even when they
obey the commandments and do good works,
are centred on themselves; they fail to realize
that goodness comes from God. Those who live
this way, who want to be the source of their own
righteousness, find that the latter is soon deplet-
ed and that they are unable even to keep the law.
They become closed in on themselves and iso-
lated from the Lord and from others; their lives
become futile and their works barren, like a tree
far from water. Saint Augustine tells us in his
usual concise and striking way: âÂÂ
Ab eo qui fecit te,
noli deficere nec ad te
âÂÂ, âÂÂDo not turn away from the
one who made you, even to turn towards your-
self âÂÂ.
15
Once I think that by turning away from
God I will find myself, my life begins to fall apart
(cf.
Lk
15:11-24). The beginning of salvation is
openness to something prior to ourselves, to a
primordial gift that affirms life and sustains it in
being. Only by being open to and acknowledging
15
De Continentia
, 4, 11: PL 40, 356.