I wish it would 'just go away' but it won't. It dawned on me very early in this pandemic that, much as I didn't like the thought, we were going to have to live with this for a very long time. I'm not a virologist or epidemiologist or any other sort of expert in the field of infectious diseases, but I do understand enough to realise that viruses persist and don't simply disappear overnight. I can't help but think that we ought to be willing to learn a useful lesson from this...

We really do need - all of us - to face up to the reality of our sinful natures. Like with the virus, all of us affected in some way by the presence of sin in the world; but unlike the virus, which only some have caught, all of us definitely are personally sinful. Covid-19 may or may not reveal its presence in an infected person by the symptoms it produces, the dry cough or loss of sense of smell for instance. Sin always reveals its presence in us - first and foremost in our attitudes towards God, but then in our attitudes, words and lives as we live day by day. We tend to think of sin in terms of behaviour that is seen and is regarded as wrong by society. Of course, our attitudes to right and wrong change over time so it can all become a matter of what most people think, or what those with the loudest voices or most power think; or for others it is seen as a matter of personal preference, as long as you don't hurt anyone else or judge anyone who disagrees with you. Live and let live. We are so short-sighted and forgetful that we don't seem to be aware that what we thought was wrong yesterday may now be regarded as right - but tomorrow may be regarded as wrong again. Attitudes and opinions are shifting all the time.

But sin is not a matter of what we think or decide. Sin is not something that changes in its definition according to the tides of public opinion. Rather, sin is anything and everything that is wrong in the sight of God. We may only see it in terms of words and deeds, but God says it comes from the heart and soul. There is not a 'sin virus' in us, but there is spiritual corruption in our very innermost self and that corruption shows itself in how we think, speak and live; in how we treat others and treat God. God will hold us all accountable for our sin - in every detail - and He will neither excuse it nor turn a blind eye to it. That would be unjust. So, let's learn a useful lesson from the pandemic. It is no good us simply ignoring it - that doesn't change the fact or the consequences; we may stick our heads in the sand and pretend it isn't there - but that doesn't change the fact that it is there; we may deny it has any personal consequences - but it does, even if we don't fall ill with Covid-19 we are all affected, perhaps just by having to queue to get into a shop and then finding what we wanted has run out through panic buying. We may wish that it would just go away - but wishful thinking is useless. We may - or may not - see the pandemic weaken or even end through our efforts, research and technology, but there is no solution to the sin-problem within the wit of man. For that, we need to look to God - the very one we have sinned against and who tells us of the hellish consequences of living and then dying as sinners - is the one who alone has the answer to sin and to whom we need to come. Jesus Christ can take away our sin and restore us to God, saving us and giving us true life. Thankfully, Jesus won't 'just go away' and so His invitation stands for you come to Him by faith so that He can take your sin away.