reflections on sin Elizabeth Fair
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ur household recently ended up in isolation with a positive Covid-19 test result; this has sparked a lot of deep thinking for me. One verse that has felt particularly pertinent to me has been “it is for freedom that Christ set us free” (Galatians 5:1). Through mulling this verse over, I’ve discovered a lot of resonances between isolation and sinning, between freedom from covid and freedom from sin, between the restrictions and rules. I’ve discovered that worship requires repentance, and that selfishness is not godly. The Old Testament teaches us that the Israelites had a lot of rules to follow to be ‘clean’ in God’s sight. Ritual sacrifice was central, and maintaining purity was also central. For example, during their periods, women had to stay away from people as they were unclean. When Jesus came, many of these rules were done away with. Freedom was brought through Jesus’ blood rather than the blood of animal sacrifice. One price was paid at one time for everyone, everywhere, at every time. The Israelites were free from following the rules of sacrifice and the rules of the synagogue. Instead, they could walk in God’s path for them without the intercession of a priest. However, this came with a catch: they were not free to simply do what they wanted. They were free to worship God. Jesus’ death didn’t just mean that they could sin and forget about it – repentance was still central to their purity before God. In the Covid-19 pandemic, similarly to the Israelites, we have had many rules to follow. Hand-washing, social distancing, and
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mask-wearing have been the order of the last year and a half. And yet as we come out of restrictions (in the UK at least), I can’t help feeling that we haven’t truly been set free. While there are no longer restrictions on what you can and can’t do, this doesn’t mean we are free. We still live with the reality of Covid-19 and the possibility of catching it, spreading it, or just needing to isolate. We are not free because of the lack of rules – there are still consequences to our actions. We still have to consider the risks of our actions and their implications on ourselves and others. This will not change until people stop catching the virus. Just like how we will only be free when we have something that fully prevents the virus, we are not freed from sin because there aren’t obvious rules. This logic can lead to more hurt and pain and sin. We are only freed from sin by the blood of Jesus which covers our sins. Just as we live with the consequences of the virus in the hopes of a day without it all, we live with the consequences of sin with the hope that we will be freed and live in Christ in His glory. Isolation is key to stopping the spread. Repentance is key to freedom from our sin.
Elizabeth is in her third year studying Music at Magdalen. Whilst she spends most of her time at her desk, she also likes to knit socks while watch farming programmes and go on long, muddy walks. ]
