Diabetes

Blessed is the man who listens to me, watching daily at my doors, waiting at my doorway. For whoever finds me finds life and receives favor from the LORD (Proverbs 8:34-35).

Last year I was found to have diabetes. In the time since my diagnosis, I have learned to think about food much more carefully. Too many carbohydrates can result in high blood sugar. High blood sugar can lead to vision loss, dental problems, and kidney damage. So I have to count carbs. Whenever I eat something, I measure portions. When I go shopping, I look at the nutrition label before placing a grocery item in my cart. And I have to take insulin after every meal as well as at bedtime to keep my blood sugar under control.

I used to eat whatever I wanted whenever I wanted. Not any more. Now I eat on a fairly strict schedule. I think about my food choices and weigh short-term gratification against long-term risk to my health. I don’t like the loss of freedom, but sanity demands that I act responsibly.

It occurs to me that we should all live as if we had diabetes. What I mean is this: we are all sinners. Like diabetes, sin is a life-long condition. It poses a severe health risk—sin can kill you and land you in hell. It would be smart to treat sin like the carbohydrates that cause high blood sugar, something dangerous to be avoided. We should count the cost of every sinful word and action, weighing short term thrills against long term danger.

Of course, even if we somehow resisted every urge to sin—and no one has that kind of self-discipline—the diabetes of sin will still kill us. Thankfully, medication is available from God. He offers Jesus to be our insulin. The Son of God suffered and died to correct the sinful imbalance in our lives. His holy blood counteracts the high blood sugar of guilt, which is caused by our sinfulness.

Sin is a life-long condition, just like diabetes. And just as I need insulin every day, so we need Jesus’ forgiveness each and every day. If I were to skip taking medication, my condition would rapidly deteriorate; you risk the same if you let days go by without praying to Jesus for mercy and help. You might not be diabetic, but I encourage you to act like you are—count the cost of your sins, and seek treatment from God’s loving Son.