Is your faith gluten free

Hebrews 12:1 (ESV)

Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us.

 I have a question. What does gluten have to do with Jesus? As we look at it we can see that the analogy works really well in analyzing our relationship with God.

When someone is gluten sensitive, there are certain things they have to avoid otherwise the wheat protein becomes very harmful to their body – and sometimes depending on the sensitivity, deadly.

Whether it’s a crumb or a whole pizza, the effect on their body is the same. The body is not tolerant of any amount and reacts through a painful process of the deteriorating of the intestine lining……This is starting to sound like sin, isn’t it?

In the Christian walk, there are certain activities (sins) we have to avoid in order to keep ourselves healthy and connected with Christ.

Let’s bring it back to the crumb and pizza thought. It doesn’t matter if you’ve only had one judgmental thought pass through your head your entire life (Matthew 7:1-2) or if you’ve murdered a bunch of people (Romans 3:10) the sin, no matter how great or small, “contaminates” the whole body, just as gluten, no matter the amount, affects the digestive system in the same way.

Our spiritual health is painfully affected by our sin – and just as the gluten strips the intestines of its lining, so does sin strip our hearts of unity with Jesus.

So what am I getting at and why am I talking about gluten?

I want you to take a look at your life: What is the “gluten” that is poisoning your relationship with God?

What can you remove from your life to give you a healthy connection with Him?

When someone is gluten intolerant, they avoid gluten at all costs knowing the consequences. Do you?

Do you avoid sin at all costs or do you play with it, not caring of the effect it will have on you?

Dear Lord, we pray that we would take a look at our life and see what is the “gluten” in our life and we would avoid it. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.