The Michigan Crud

Therefore, just as through one man sin entered into the world, 

and death through sin, and so death spread to all men,

because all have sinned.

Romans 5:12

We have had the Michigan Crud in the house for over a month now.  It started with one of my twins, spread to me and then to David.  I am waiting for the other twin to fall, but she has successfully avoided it somehow.  In the meantime it has shown up in my other children's households, knocking parents and children alike out of commission from anywhere from one to five weeks, depending on whether the Crud desires to show mercy or not.  

But it's kind of been a given that if you're in the family, you're going to get it.  Watch out, Nicole...there's still time!

But the Michigan Crud is nothing like sin.  You don't need to be exposed to it to get it.  You come with it - you're born with it.  Romans 5:12 tells us that through Adam's choice to sin, sin and death has spread to all men.  Psalm 58:3 tells us that the wicked are estranged from God from the womb (upon conception) and go astray as soon as they are born.  Job 15:14 implies that if you are born of a woman you cannot be born righteous. I John 1:8 says that if any man claims that there is no sin in him, he is a liar and John 3:6 tells us that whatever is born of flesh is flesh - in other words, if you are born sinful, you are sinful.  

Sin is not something to embrace but to address.  I think we minimize sin by labeling and blaming others.  Are we truly responsible for sin if someone else made us do it?  In the garden, sin produced the gift of blaming seen by Adam's first words, "The woman, whom you gave to me, made me do it!"  Blaming God and Eve in the same breath - masterful, but wrong.  Just watch FOXNEWS for a few minutes and you'll see that most people have reasons for why they did what they did - they justify their sin by throwing others under the bus.  Or maybe it's not a person we blame - maybe it's a disorder.  We can't help it if we're made poorly, right?  Oh, wait - perhaps we are blaming God again for our disorders.  That's a problem.

God wants more for you.  He knows that sin brings suffering - it's never the way out of any situation (notice the 100% words).  He wants you to trust Him and walk by faith - to choose to be honorable even in the hard things and see what faithfulness produces.  He knows that when we call sin what it is, that He will give us victory over sin - if we confess it, if we will repent of it, He will cleanse us of it.  Jesus was victorious over death - do you not believe He can give you victory over bitterness or anxiety?

If you are struggling today with sin - if you're willing to stop the blame game, admit that you are a sinner and are ready to do something about it - then turn to the only option you have for victory - Jesus. He died to transform you from a diseased, dead corpse into a new creation where the old things are no longer ruling us, but Jesus Himself sits on the throne of your heart.  Today - read Ephesians 1:17-32 and begin your journey of renewing your mind in scripture and tapping into the transforming power of the gospel!