IS IT A to playing computer games
and playing all night long word. In Romans 3:23 he
BEAUTIFUL
SIN-ARIO?
By: Claire Cacapit
What if the bitter taste of
liquor welcomes you every
day to drink it up and help
you set your worries aside,
would you have it? What if
the night-long fun brought by
a person could make you feel
loved, would you engage to it
all the time? What if doing
the wrong things could make
you fill in that void in your
heart for good, would you
still continue doing so? What
if sin was good, would you
love doing it as much as you
should?
GOOD FRI-END
At an early age, Alfredo
Magno Estepa, was taught by
his parents to do different
religious activities such as
going to Church every
Sunday, praying, and many
more. Actually, he was
clueless about the
significance of doing these
things. His mind was all over
the place, and his thoughts
kept running in him endlessly
as he got stuck in a maze—
questioning their faith. Sadly,
an empty space grew out
from his heart, and
meanwhile, he felt the urge of
trying to fill it in with a lot of
things. Thus, in his high
school years, he got addicted
someone shared to me God's
with his friends. Upon
reaching college with the
course, Electrical
Engineering, Alfredo added,
“I found myself trying to fit
in my environment of: Cool
Alcoholic drinking guys.”
All these vices and addictions
became his good friends,
thinking that it would erase
his chaotic problems in
school and at their home; and
could probably make his cup
full again—however, it
didn’t.
LUST-ER IN THE DARK
After trying those sort of
things, Alfredo then decided
to be in a relationship
thinking that it could be what
he needed in order to fill in
that sad empty space in his
heart and could probably put
him in luminescence of
happiness. It was a lovely
ride for the both of them;
since, everything’s been
going smoothly on track.
Also, that time was also when
Alfredo’s best friend, invited
him to a Youth Fellowship
called, “Elevate”. For him,
going there was just like
riding a Ferris wheel multiple
times-- truly repeating what
they already know. However,
after some time, Alfredo said,
It all dawned down to me—
the reality of my case when
shared, "That all sinned and
fall short for the glory of
God”. I know at that
moment, God is speaking to
me; that's why, I feel
something's missing.
Because of that, in August
2014, he chose to accept
Jesus as his Lord and savior.
His relationship with God
grew, as well as his
relationship with his
girlfriend. His commitments
to the Church were built and
his affectionate promises to
his girlfriend were also made.
Until, one day, Alfredo woke
up from that romantic sin and
God made him realize that,
“What we're doing (with my
girlfriend) was wrong. I
really loved her so much that
I don't want to be separated
with her.”
Unconsciously floating in his
stream of thoughts—he got
low grades, his commitment
to church time was divided,
and his mind was just
helpless— totally blank-
minded. Then, in silence,
God convicted him with the
words, “If anything causes
you to sin, cut it off.”
Afterwards, choices began
flashing out of his mind:
“Pursue girlfriend, and keep
sinning” or “Pursue God and
by faith trust Him that He
knows what is best.” It really
was a tough question that
should only be answered in
one solution. Hence, even
though he went through
rollercoasters and was pained
a lot, he arrived with the
decision of letting his woman
go.
METAMORPHO-SIN
Abuse of alcohol,
engagement in vices and
addictions, and involvement
in sexual relationships
became Alfredo’s friends
when he was trying to fill in
that void in his heart for
good. According to him,
Now, he is a man who
happily serves the Lord in
Christ Commission
Fellowship (CCF) through
his gift of music; and, a man
of God who once was lost,
but now is found.
Truly, he had a sinful life
constantly trying to fill that
empty space in his heart. But,
now, what he gained is a
metamorphic scenario of
transformation brought by sin
—it was a beautiful sin-ario,
indeed!

“It brought me short time

satisfactions yet with long
term negative effects.”

And in the end, committing

those sins only created a
temporary healing of his
heart and didn’t even do
much. However, because of
those sins he learned a lot and
has received a blessing of
true friendships centered on
God.

As Alfredo was looking back

at his sins, it was tragic
indeed. Thus, if he could go
back to his old life, he chose
not to do so for he
highlighted that,

“The decision that I made in

choosing God rather the
other things that I cherished
the most brought me to who
am I today.”