Sherrye and I have spent all day just laying around on the couches and generally feeling sore and run-down. You see, we both came down with this dreaded stomach virus which is going around. Sherrye’s bout started yesterday and mine was last night. We obviously did not intend to get sick and if we had known from whom or where we contracted this we would have certainly sought to avoid the situation.
Sin is a lot like physical illnesses. There are times when we least expect it that sin shows up in our presence and we succumb to its influence. Most often, when we find ourselves in a spiritually sick condition, we can trace it back to several factors. Perhaps we did not spend time with the spiritually healthy, but rather spent time with those who are sin-sick. Instead of engaging in healthy activities, such as prayer, Bible study, worship and fellowship, we may have neglected our spiritual health and have thus become sin-sick.
We should have regular checkups to test for the presence of physical sickness. How often do we get checkups on our spiritual condition, looking for signs of weakness or decay in good that once existed? Once you manage to rid yourself of the sin which has plagued your life, do you stay away from it or do you keep it near just in case you want to see it again?
Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its lusts (Romans 6:12). If we could choose, we would never even think about letting sickness remain in our bodies.
But now having been freed from sin and enslaved to God, you derive your benefit, resulting in sanctification, and the outcome, eternal life (Romans 6:22). Once we are freed from our sickness we will benefit from an improved life.
For the elders, Gregg Woodall