Allergies. Annoying. Postnasal drip, persistent cough, pressure around the teary eyes. I have been under immunotherapy for 6 months where the allergist injects into my body the things that irritate my body, slowing increase the amount, so I will build up an immunity to them. So far, it has only made my symptoms worse and my body wants to reject them even more. The allergist says it is part of the process and eventually my body will accept these irritants.
It seems this world wants us to undergo spiritual immunotherapy. Slowly our minds are injected with a viewpoint that initially the Holy Spirit in us would scream, “Reject!” Little by little, we are exposed over and over again to the things that prick our conscience. They get under our skin. Everywhere we look, acceptance is promoted.
Eventually, we can begin to get used to it as semi-normal. Seeing or hearing about these activities and opinions does not cause the adverse reaction they once did. We look the other way. After all, we are not to judge, right? It is a lifestyle, and if they have found love and happiness, is that so bad? There is too much hate in the world as it is.
A wise minister once said that Jesus loves us where we are, but too much to leave us there. God is there. And He cares.
We have all fallen short. We all sin. But, that means we all must be drawn to repentance of the sin, not acceptance. While we can love the sinner, and we should in order to help them, let us not become immune to the sin no matter what it is.
They say that sin always has “I” in the middle. The “I” doesn’t mean immunotherapy. It means looking inwardly at oneself. If that does not spur a need for repentance then that “I” is the issue. I am just born this way. It is who I am, accept me anyway. I don’t want to change.
The only cure is to replace the “I” with an “O” – let the sin be changed by the Son. He alone can encourage each of us to omit sin from our lives. But each of us can help open hearts to His ways by refusing to become immune to sin and yet still loving the person anyway. That takes strength from the Holy Spirit. And it takes time.
Maybe if we worked more to eliminate sin in our society rather than build up an immunity to it we could all breathe a bit easier.
My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have an advocate with the Father—Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world. 1 John 2:1-3
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