April 25, 2024
By Hannah Roberts-Antunes
It was two weeks before my wedding. Like all brides, I was worried about the dress, the invitations, and all of the seemingly small details, yet so big in a woman’s mind when it is her turn to marry, without knowing there was something inside of me that was silently attacking my body.
One day, I could hardly walk, so my fiancé took me to the hospital to see what was happening. After some tests, the doctor told me I had blood clots in my leg and lungs, and that there was a possibility that this would kill me instantly. I was in shock. My perfect world was crumbling when I saw the face of my future husband when the doctor revealed the seriousness of the situation. He called my parents and we prayed.
It’s been almost a year since the doctor performed the operation that saved my life, and a year since I married the love of my life. However, there are some side effects that remind me of this traumatic event on a daily basis. Every morning and every night, I take a pill that prevents the blood from clotting. This pill is a daily reminder of the day they saved me and the danger that awaits me if I miss a dose. Without it, I would die.
Instead of being depressed with this news, I am constantly attentive to the other spiritual truth that this situation brings. There is another silent killer in me: sin.
The Bible says: “For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God” (Rom. 3:23), and “the wages of sin is death” (Rom. 6:23).
Just like I could not see the dangerous effects of coagulation, I cannot always see the dangerous effects of my sin, no matter how big or small it may be. Just as I needed a doctor to save me from my health condition, I also needed a Savior for my spiritual condition.
The Word of God shows us that Jesus Christ is the remedy for our problem of sin: “But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was crushed for our sins; the punishment of our peace was upon him, and by his wound we were healed” (Isa. 53: 5), and ” Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved" (Acts 16:31).
After having accepted Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, it is easy to feel comfortable and fall back into sin, because the final death has been conquered through his sacrifice, but the Bible teaches us that to follow Christ is to take your cross daily and denying oneself (Matt. 16:24). As I have to take my medicine every day to keep myself alive and healthy, we must be actively in the Word of God, and put on the armor of God to withstand the trials and temptations that are presented to us every day (Eph. 6:10-20).
The decision to accept Christ as our Savior may be simple, because we can see the imminent danger of eternal damnation, but the decision to follow Christ as our Lord is more difficult, a daily dying to ourselves, because we have to recognize our weaknesses every day and look for a way to live that is not natural for our sinful being.
Every day, I wake up knowing that my body cannot continue without my medication and that there is nothing I can do on my own to cure myself, but to trust medicine and take it faithfully. Do I have the same awareness of my spiritual life? Do I care for my spiritual weaknesses as I do with my physical weaknesses?
If you are like me, you may have overlooked the sin in your life, believing that, if it is not apparent to others that it will not be harmful. But the Bible is very clear that all sin leads to death, and that God does not care how good your life is outwardly, but looks at your heart.
Ask yourself: Have I relied on Jesus Christ to save me from my sin? If so, is there a hidden sin in me that I must confess in order to be changed and forgiven?
May we all trust daily in the saving grace of Jesus and seek to be conformed to His image.
This article first appeared at Southwestern Seminary’s biblicalwoman.com website.
Hannah Roberts-Antunes is pursuing a Master of Divinity with a concentration in Women’s Studies Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth, Texas. Her husband, Danilo Antunes Vieira is the interim pastor of a Hispanic congregation in Haltom City.
