Day 5

Sin has consequences beyond just separation from God far beyond theory only; it wreaks havoc on humanity on every level. Sin affects the physical body, the emotions, the mind and even the prayers of believers. It is not entirely clear whether this is because sin just has a multifaceted affect or if it is because humans’ physical, mental, and spiritual aspects are so interconnected and not separable.
Sin, both original and personal, is a divisive force that separates humanity from communication/communion with God. It continues to preoccupy humanity and cause a misinterpretation of God’s being/existence and love. In human minds, sin skews the details of God’s purpose for humanity so that it can’t be more fully comprehended. Even for those who recognize sin, energy is often, unfortunately, spent on trying to correct or rid themselves of sin rather than on gaining more communion with God.
Since humanity was created in the image of God, there is potential to know God and to understand God. This is a solely human ability because we are created in the image of God. No other being in creation can commune with God in this way. Notice the word commune, it is not that no other being is able to worship God. All of creation worships God, but only humans can commune with God because they are created in God’s image.
In addition, People often limit God to human likeness instead. For instance, some may tend to feel, because of their own experiences with fathers or other human figures, that God is only a distant harsh judge on a throne somewhere. At the same time, humans often fail to recognize how much God delights in spending time with us. Humans think that God is like humanity and therefore behaves like humans. People think that God likes communication and community the way humanity does because God is like humans in that way. However, the Truth is that humanity craves communication and community because WE are made in the image of God and GOD craves those things.
Simply put, God created humanity in His image in hopes of having ongoing communion with them. Humanity allowed sin to not only interrupt that communion but also to interfere in humanity’s ability to assess God’s nature, love, purpose for them and his acts in the creation around them. This disconnect requires intervention on the part of God to save humanity and restore them to communion with Him. This is accomplished by first accepting salvation/redemption provided by Jesus’ death on the cross and then surrender to the transforming work of the Holy Spirit as he restores us to the Imago Dei.

Hebrews 12:1 “Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles.”
Lord, you know the tangled web of sin that we often weave. Help me to recognize the sin that I have allowed and show me the ways that it has affected my thinking and my viewpoint. Replace my perspective with yours Lord. Help me to understand it from your perspective and to see myself and my sin through your eyes. Take me on the journey that you have designed for me.

*In this devotional series some content may be summarized from the following sources:
Becoming A Holy People -Course offered at Northwest Nazarene University under Professor Weldon Shuman
A Plain Account of Christian Perfection -Rev John Wesley 1777
Healthy. Happy. Holy. 7 Practices toward a Holistic Life -By Joe Gorman; 2018 The Foundry.
Anatomy of the Soul -Curt Thompson, MD; 2010 Tyndale
Beliefs that Matter Most -W.T. Purkiser; 1959 Beacon Hill

*All Scripture quoted is NIV unless otherwise specified.