Sent to me from my dad...
Sin, like a virus, sneaks upon you when you least expect. In a crowded room full of temptation, rubbing elbows with those who are already infected. In a place where you know that you should not be, thinking you are invincible, you only plan to stay a little while. You can even see that some have been sick for quite some time, but you don’t think you have to avoid them, their sickness will not touch you as long as you stay far enough away. But like airborne droplets the germs float into the air and into your fragile human body and take root and begin to grow.
Even when you go back into your daily routine, you now carry an unwelcome visitor that was not there before. It soon becomes rooted inside and although it takes a while to take hold… eventually it begins to take over. Your body cannot fight the germ any more, you feel odd, and know that something is not right. Something is just a little…off. Pretty soon you begin to feel the effects stronger and stronger until you have no doubt that you have been overcome and are without hope. The virus has taken hold of you and has dug its way so far down inside and multiplied and consumed your body till it can no longer function properly. You feel queasy, and confused and vomity. The fever begins to rage inside of you and your body is no longer your own. You cannot continue living your normal life, everything you would usually do comes to a screeching halt as you resolve to the fact that you are a prisoner to this disease that has taken over your body.
Wrapped up in your blanket, shaking and trying to fight off what shouldn’t have even been inside of you in the first place, you feel repentive and remember that hand you shook and elbow you rubbed that shared their horrible virus with you and know immediately that it was all your fault and you should have never been there.
The only thing you can do is pray and hydrate and rest, leaning on the Holy Spirit to mend and heal and help you like a medicine that is the only thing that can sooth and calm the heat that is tearing up your body. Like a salve He comes to comfort, a cool water that eases the fever inside of you. Slowly, with a lot of grace and consistence…little by little you feel your strength being restored. Feeling weak and vulnerable, you lean heavy on Him, depending on Him to get you through. He forgivingly offers relief from the pain, allowing you to rest heal.
When you come out of it, you will be tired and drained and weak. But God can restore you to full health, though many will still carry the scars with them for weeks and months.
The worst part about it is those around you that you have unknowingly infected with your virus. Bringing it back to your friends, your family, your children…leaving them vulnerable and knowing that if they become infected that it was YOU who brought it to them.
Sin is a virus…like the flu. Once you are exposed, you may have to go through a whole process of getting things right and restoring your life to God. Or, you can just rot and die….many people do die from the flu you know. Every year we lose people to this common every day illness. Why do they die? Because they are weak, not healthy, don’t have the proper medicines, or are unable to heal. We lose many to sin this way too. Those who are unsaved and have no help from the Holy Spirit to get them out of their sin, or no doctor who has the remedy to help them. Soul winners, I’m talking to you. Maybe they love that sin so much they refuse to let it go and it multiplies and becomes too great a burden for their body.
We have the great gift being born with a body God made able to heal itself when attacked…and a chance to repent, again and again for the wrongs that we do. He could have been unforgiving for all the wrongs we do…but instead He is a forgiving God that will love you and take care of us even when we purposefully infect ourselves with the wrong things. Praise the Lord for a God who restores and heals.
