A Sniffle, A Sneeze, A Germ, A Sin: The Guests We Entertain

For several weeks now, we have had uninvited guests in our home. These guests radically transformed our ability to function as we normally do. They not only disrupted our sleep but also the time we spend together as a family. Attempting to escape was an impossibility. These guests, germs really, were quite persistent in their ability to do as they pleased. They were quite insistent we keep them entertained. I was the last, at least for now, to give into their germ warfare, but I, too, lost the battle in the end.

We are all vulnerable creatures, not always impervious to the germs and viruses that come in hot pursuit of us at the most inopportune moments in our lives. They take up residence in our homes and in our bodies disturbing the normal pace of our lives. No matter how diligent we believe ourselves to be with the handwashing, the hand sanitizing, the surface disinfecting, and all the rest those germs will find us even when we think ourselves diligent about taking care of ourselves. In my own case what began with a sneeze, a sniffle, and a scratchy throat progressed into a full-blown case of the flu right before my eyes. My denial of the situation early-on did nothing but prolong the battle. Had I, however, accepted that an immediate change was necessary things would have been markedly different.

Our sin life can be like that. It appears as a minor thing like a sniffle or a sneeze, but unlike germs and their accompanying illnesses which often attack us no matter how hard we try to prevent it, we invite sin in and allow it to become a part of our lives. As sin manifests itself in our hearts, our minds, and our souls, we often give into the idea that the worst parts of us are certainly not as bad as the sin life we see in others. We forget...sin is sin. It is contagious. It is everywhere. Hold onto it, and it ends in death. No matter our sin or our perception of it we would all do well to take immediate action against it in order that our own sins not become rooted in us or the cause for those among us to stumble.

When I think of sin, I remember the words of Paul when he said, “For we know that the law is spiritual, but I am not of the flesh, sold under sin. For I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate. Now if I do what I do not want, I agree with the law, that it is good. So now it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me. For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh. For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out. For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing” (Romans 7:15-25, ESV).

As believers, we understand that though sin lives in us and is all around us, we are not powerless against it. Evil has a plan to lead us to spiritual death; however, we are not passive victims in our battle with sin. Our fight remains constant against the evil desires of our flesh, the evil desires of man, and the evil desires of Satan. Follow Satan and you follow “the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient” (Ephesians 2:2). Yes, sin spreads like an illness, and in our weakened state, Satan and the world stand ready when we become complacent and complicit in our acceptance of the sin that is within us and all around us.

Lately, there seems to be something in society and the cultural norms of today that says, “God wants you and me just as we are. There is nothing we need to do. No changes in our lives are necessary. Our salvation is guaranteed.” Yes, God loves each one of us unconditionally, and He calls us just as we are, but He values our obedience. He awaits it. Its role in our salvation seems clear. “Don’t you know that when you offer yourselves to someone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one you obey—whether you are slaves to sin, which leads to death, or to obedience, which leads to righteousness?” (Romans 6:16). Obedience or disobedience to God are both choices, but so, too, is choosing a life dominated by sin or a life that is an expression of our love and devotion to our Creator and our King.

Our obedience and our surrender to God matter. We will struggle with sin, but because we, as believers, have been given the gift of the Holy Spirit, we have the power to resist sin in our lives. However, we cannot resist sin if we do not hate it and repent of it. To forsake sin requires that we turn to God in absolute surrender. Ours must then become a life of dramatic and radical transformation. “If indeed you have heard Him and have been taught by him…that you put off, concerning your former conduct, the old man which grows corrupt according to the deceitful lusts, and be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and that you put on the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness” (Ephesians 4:21-24).

God is calling. He is waiting. Even in today’s sinful world where we meet chaos, confusion, conflict, anxiety, anger, hatred, and fear daily, He remains. He does not let go. We, however, need to understand it was God’s intention from the beginning that you and I live our lives according to His will, not ours. We do not determine what is right and what is wrong for ourselves or for anyone else. God made that determination long ago. His command that we turn from our sin and repent eliminates every human idea we have about the way we think we should live our lives or what we believe is okay with God. With God there is no compromise. His Word is clear.

“The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by human hands. And He is not served by human hands, as if He needed anything. Rather, He Himself gives everyone life and breath and everything else. From one man He made all the nations that they should inhabit the whole earth; and He marked out their appointed times in history and the boundaries of their lands. God did this so that they would seek Him and perhaps reach for Him and find Him, though He is not far from any one of us. ‘For in Him we live and move and have our being.’ As some of your own poets have said, ‘We are His offspring.’  Therefore, since we are God’s offspring, we should not think that the divine being is like gold or silver or stone—an image made by human design and skill. In the past God overlooked such ignorance, but now He commands all people everywhere to repent. For He has set a day when He will judge the world with justice by the man He has appointed” (Acts 17:24-31a, emphasis mine).

My recent encounter with the flu leaves me mindful of the words of Jesus when he said, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance” (Luke 5:31-32). Not one of us is completely healthy. We are all sinners, all spiritually ill, and all in need of the Great Physician. We must seek Him, reach for Him, and finding Him turn from our sin, repent and be healed. Our lives depend on it.