Casandra Martin

It is flu season. Schools are sending kids home by the dozens. Workplaces are having to deal with staff shortages. Families are finding their holidays disrupted by coughing, fever, congestion, and misery. The aches and pains of the flu virus quickly overtake the body, sending us running for the covers, the doctor, and the tissues.

When you have the flu, you know it. So does everybody else. You will do anything to get rid of the virus attacking your body. I wish that the effects of sin on our souls were as evident as the impact of the flu virus on our bodies. If we could see the misery sin causes, the way in which it disrupts our spiritual health, and the power that it exerts when it takes up residence in our lives, we would be more proactive about getting rid of it. Sin, however, is subtle in its attacks. It presents itself as harmless, a little indulgence, a tiny compromise, or a guilty pleasure. It is a small thing. What harm can it do? The flu virus is a small thing too, but it packs a big punch. We can see the damage the flu virus does to the body. Imagine what just a small bit of sin does to the soul.

Thankfully, we have access to a cure. Jesus came into our infected world in order to heal the damage sin has ravaged on our souls. His blood has the power to unleash sin’s grip, bringing health, beauty, and energy into our lives. His grace is also the preventative we need to keep sin from restaking its claim on who we are. The transformation we begin in baptism continues to drive out the influence of sin, lessening the influence it has on our hearts.

My Jesus Resolution today is to visit the Great Physician. Sin has more of a hold on me than I would like to admit. He knows. He sees. He doesn’t turn away. He draws me into His arms, covers me with His blood, and eradicates the disease from my soul. Fresh and new, He invites me to breathe deeply, embrace joy, and live a healthy life in Him.