“For by grace, you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.” – Ephesians 2:8-9
Of all the covid variants, omicron seems to be the most contagious. This is evident by the growing number of cases attributed to this variant. I have family members and friends who have contracted Covid for the first time during the past couple of weeks. They avoided Covid for close to two years but now are recovering from it.
Some have expressed frustration that they caught it. They tried to do everything right. They continually wore masks. They social distanced as much as they could. Some even isolated significantly during the past two years. They only recently returned to their church families or ate at a restaurant. They washed their hands, took their vitamins, got plenty of rest and did all they could not to get Covid. They are frustrated, disappointed and even a little ashamed that they contracted Covid. After all, they tried so hard to avoid it. Their efforts weren’t good enough.
As I’ve heard these stories and sensed the frustration and disappointment of those recovering from Covid, I have thought about our struggle with sin. We try so hard to avoid it. We try to guard our eyes and our hearts and monitor what we see and experience. We read our Bibles and pray daily. We worship and enjoy the community of our church family. We attempt to be as proactive as we can in avoiding sin. We train our thoughts on good and pure things. We seek to love our neighbor. We try to reign in our temper and control our greed. We try so hard to do the right things, stay away from the bad and lead lives that honor God. Yet, we still sin. We are frustrated and disappointed and ashamed in how we act, what we thought or what we said. We tried so hard to avoid sin.
God knew that we would struggle. He knew that we would try to do all that is right and holy. He knew that we would seek to think, say and do only those things that would please him. He knew we would try to do “good works”. He also knew that despite our best efforts that we would sin. He knew our effort wouldn’t be perfect. He knew temptations would continually appear. He knew we would have weaknesses. He knew we would be physically tired, emotionally stressed and spiritually weak. He knew we wouldn’t do everything right. He knew us better than we know ourselves.
Knowing all of this, he sent Christ to live a perfect life for us. He sent Christ to live, die and be resurrected so our sins would be paid, and death would be defeated. He sent Jesus so that we could experience His amazing grace. A grace that saves us when our works can’t.
You can do everything right and still get Covid. Give yourself some grace, rest and recover. You can try to do everything right, but you will eventually sin. Allow God’s grace to comfort and strengthen you, rest and recover and continue pursuing the Father.
His grace is truly amazing. Thank God for His grace.
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