Word for the day by Christian Education Forum

The Deadliest Disease

Joshua 7:1,19-26
[Jesus] was wounded for our transgressions, . . . and by His stripes we are healed.(Isaiah 53:5)

Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) was identified in 2003 in Vietnam. By the time it was brought under control, SARS had spread globally and killed nearly 800 people. One reason for the high mortality rate was that the virus was not recognized initially. But once recognized and understood, SARS was contained.

An even more dangerous disease is on the loose in our world—sin. It too is difficult to bring under control because many people do not recognize its deadliness. And many dispute the Bible’s diagnosis of sin.

In Joshua 7, we read the tragic story of Achan. We may recoil at the extreme way God dealt with him. Against God’s command, he had taken some of the spoils from Jericho and hid them in his tent (v.21). He and his entire family paid with their lives (v.25).

Thankfully, God does not deal with us in that way. If He did, none of us would remain alive. Yet we must never underestimate sin’s deadliness. It sent Christ to the cross for us.

Like SARS, the first step to deal with sin is to recognize it for what it is. Receive with gratitude the gift of eternal life. Then “put to death your members which are on the earth”—the selfish things that displease God (Col. 3:5). That’s the way to deal with our deadliest disease.

PRAYER
Dear Lord, thank you for dying for us on the cross, we are healed by your stripes.Amen.

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY
Sin is a heart disease that can be cured only by the Great Physician.
Christian Education Forum, Diocese of NAE of the Mar Thoma Church