Casandra Martin

Every year we stand in line, sleeves rolled up, waiting for our turn to be stuck. We are there to get our flu vaccine. We fill out the paper work, arriving very early in the morning in order to take advantage of the program my husband’s work offers to employees and their families. Each year, it is a roll of the dice as researchers watch trends and study infection arcs in an attempt to guess which virus might be the one that will cause the most suffering and loss. We are blessed to live in a time and place where theflu doesn’t carry with it the same fear as other diseases.

I recently read in the newspaper that researchers on are the verge of developing a universal flu vaccine. They have discovered a protein that has remained unchanged in the flu virus since the 1918 influenza pandemic that killed tens of millions of people. If successful, the vaccine will virtually eliminate the threat of a flu pandemic, protecting untold numbers of lives, and sending the influenza virus into the background of things that threaten the human population.

I wish there was a sin vaccine. Sin is a far more insidious killer than influenza. Its death rate is unmatched. Everyone who sins dies. Its infection rate is universal. “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” – Romans 3:23 It destroys lives, breaks families apart, delivers shame, stockpiles guilt, magnifies misery, weaves its way into our thoughts, choices, attitudes, and perspectives, making us enemies and separating us from God.

“But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.” – I Corinthians 15:57. Jesus is the antidote for the poison of sin. When we fill our lives with Jesus, He blunts sins deadly impact and works to transform us into a people who become increasingly resistant to the power and effects of sin on our hearts.

My Jesus Resolution today is to be proactive about my spiritual health. I am willing to take steps to protect the physical health of my family – eat healthy food, exercise, go for check-ups, and get vaccines. I want to make sure that I take the initiative to ward off sin as well. The more we put on Jesus, the deeper we surrender to His will, the more completely we write His word on our hearts, the more time we spend in prayer, the more our eyes are open to His presence, the deeper our worship and stronger our gratitude, the less of an influence sin will have on our lives.