But if we walk in the light, as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin. 1 John 1:7
“If proven effective, this is going to be a game-changer.”
That is a quote taken from Dr. Margaret Chan, the director of the World Health Organization. She was talking about a vaccine for Ebola developed by the Canadian government.
As we all know, Ebola is a particularly nasty beastie. It is incredibly contagious and, all too often, has proven to be fatal to those who have contracted it. With global jet travel being commonplace, there was always the fear the virus would break out of its confined geographical area and decimate the general population.
These facts inspired many governments and leading pharmaceutical firms to move quickly to find some sort of effective preventative.
Canada’s researchers may have discovered the answer.
Their vaccine has been tested on two different groups of people. A total of 7,500 people who had been exposed to the virus received the vaccine. Four thousand of those folks received the shot within 10 days of their exposure, while the rest were inoculated after the 10-day mark.
Among the folks who got the vaccine immediately, not one of them came down with the virus. And for the folks whose shot was delayed? Amazingly, they also had good results, with only 16 cases of Ebola being reported.
As one observing authority said, “I don’t see any reason on humanitarian grounds why it should not be used immediately.”
Truly, the world ought to rejoice if a terrible disease like Ebola can be eradicated.
Of course, it would not be the first time a killer has been successfully dealt with, is it? Two-thousand years ago, God’s innocent Son was nailed to a cross outside the walls of Jerusalem. Having lived a perfect life and fulfilled all the Lord’s laws, Jesus took our sins with Him to the cross. There, dying our death, He managed to wipe out the condemnation of sin.
Christ’s glorious third-day resurrection from the dead says His work has been successful, and now there is forgiveness and salvation for all who believe on Him as their Savior.
As the apostle John wrote, “… the blood of Jesus Christ cleanses us from all sin.”
Did you hear that? John says, “ALL sin.”
That means Jesus has conquered big sins and little sins; common sins, and those which are unique; sins which are known to us, and those which have remained unobserved; sins which are troubling, and those which are too easily accepted.
Because of the Savior’s sacrifice, humanity’s survival rate for sin is 100 percent — at least for those who believe. And that makes this good news a real game-changer.
THE PRAYER: Dear Lord, may I always give thanks for the life which has been given to me through the shed blood of my Savior. May the good news of forgiveness be embraced and shared with a dying world. This I ask in my Savior’s Name. Amen.
Pastor Ken Klaus Lutheran Hour Ministries All rights reserved; not to be duplicated without permission.