Sunday 23/08/2020

Would you want to know if you had the Coronavirus?

It’s pretty simple isn’t it? Yes.

None of us wants to have the Coronavirus, but we’d want to know if we did. We wouldn’t want to give it to someone else and we could have treatment so we could get better.

We want to know if there’s something wrong with our bodies. So why is it that we often don’t want to know when there is something wrong with our souls?

That’s why the words of John the Baptist are uncomfortable “‘Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.’” (v2)

The idea that God’s reign demands our obedience terrifies us or disgusts us. So we ignore the command to change our ways.

Maybe we think we’ll be okay because of who we are. “I’m not perfect, but I’m not that bad” we say to ourselves.

Maybe we don’t think that Jesus would actually judge us. Surely, he’d be too kind to do that.

But would this work: Just thinking “I’ll never get Coronavirus”? Does that mean you’ll be okay?

So, does thinking you’ll never be held accountable by God mean you’ll be okay?

The fact is: God does care how we live. Our rebellion against Him matters. And Jesus will one day judge the world.

So, what can we do? What John says: “Repent” (v2). Whoever we are, that’s God’s message for us today: repent. We must completely change our mind about ourselves, our sin, and God, in a real way that shows in how we live.