Self Isolation (5)
Two of my friends are about to come out of isolation. Having developed virus symptoms they followed government recommendations and stayed locked in for several days. Their quarantine time has now passed and their personal restrictions can be relaxed. How do we come out of isolation when our own selfishness and sin have isolated us from God? It is no easy thing to do. The Bible describes our spiritual self-isolation as ‘falling short of God’s glory’, being at ‘enmity’ with God, and being ‘dead in trespasses and sins’. At heart sin involves the rejection of God’s infinite love. The consequences of this are not easily undone. It is not a temporary infection but a chronic, terminal illness which, left untreated, leads to an eternal isolation from God and permanent exclusion from Heaven in a terrible place the Bible calls ‘Hell’. Many people try to treat themselves. They try a bit of moral reform or religion to improve their condition. The problem is that this only covers the symptom...