Every day when whether we read the papers, turn on the radio, watch the news or get ‘updates’ on our smartphones we are being consistently told to keep our social distance.
Shops, restaurants, cafes, bars and a whole raft of meeting places have been told to shut their doors. Those of a certain age have been told to self isolate and now it seems that the country, perhaps even the world is grinding to a halt, and so you might ask – 'How can we be safe in closeness?'
A wise man once said – "safety is not distance from the danger but closeness to God" and so it is, we would like to share with you the necessity to be close to God.
You see dear fellow citizen, corona virus is not the only great problem that confronts us, but each of us individually have the great problem called sin in our lives. We have been born in sin, the Psalmist David would write in Psalm 51:5,"behold I was brought forth in iniquity and in sin my mother conceived me". In the book of Romans we read “for there is no difference for all have sinned and come short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:22-23). And all this is as a result of Adam's sin, in Romans again the Bible tells us, “For as by one man's (Adam) disobedience many were made sinners". We are being told daily by government and health experts to maintain our social distance (and may we heed that advice) yet as a result of our sin, there is a great distance between us and God.
However, despite our sin, despite all our wrong doing and despite our great distance from God as sinners we recall the words of the Lord Jesus in the gospel of Matthew “come unto me all ye that labour and are heavy laden and I will give you rest”. The Lord Jesus is saying COME. He doesn’t want you to keep your distance, in fact the Lord Jesus is the ONLY way to God. In John 14:6 he said, “I am the way the truth and the life no man comes to the Father but by me”. The Lord Jesus Christ is not one of many ways, dear friend he is the ONLY way. You ask, 'How is he the way?' – John 3:16 says, "For God so loved that he gave his only begotten son that whosoever believeth in him should not perish but have everlasting life". The Lord Jesus Christ came into this world, suffered, endured untold pain and agony, bled and died at the place called Calvary. The Bible tells us “he did no sin” yet he was punished on account of our sins. He suffered, he died, he was buried and the third day he rose again (1 Corinthians 15:3-4). Today the Lord Jesus lives.
Amidst all the uncertainty, all the worry, fear and anxiety, we can know peace with God, sins forgiven, and a certainty for the future. Certainty of having a friend that sticks closer than a brother, - no longer at a distance. All this can be found in the person of the Lord Jesus Christ. A jailor in Philippi once asked the great question, - 'what must I do to be saved?'. The answer came from a man called Paul who declared himself to be the chief of sinners – “believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved”.
Come to the Lord Jesus, just as you are, repent from your sin and put your faith (rest your all) in him and he has promised to give you rest. Know the safety in nearness to God.
D.Johnston