Many are dying without defense. Promises have been made to find a solution. The greatest intellects were gathered to determine the best option. No expense was spared in its preparation and finally the answer is revealed to the world. The world is literally on the cusp of receiving this life-saving treatment. There are so many that need a dose of this miracle that will literally change the game for people around the globe.

There has been much in the news lately about the long-awaited vaccine for COVID. Several countries have approved these treatments and (as of this writing) the United States is very close to approval as well. Various companies have developed their own versions of a vaccine that promises to be effective at protecting people from the effects of this virus that has brought our world to a near stand-still. Some vaccines tout an efficacy rate of up to 95%, which is apparently an excellent prognosis. The biggest concerns right now are availability and logistics. How do we get this limited amount of medicine distributed to those that need it most in the most expedient manner?

This latest frenzy to unleash these drugs on to the world stage to combat COVID has received much media attention. Whether you plan to get the vaccine or not, it is something that offers the hope of bringing our world back to something more normal. Yet, this latest offering reminded me of how our current situation parallels that of the core message of Scripture. Go back and re-read that first paragraph again.

While the opening paragraph might have reminded you of this promise of a vaccine in the news, I was actually referring to something else. It is a disease with a 100% infection rate and is fatal in every case. The disease is sin and every single human being is born with it. Shortly after it was introduced to the world, God made a promise for a cure in Genesis 3:15 when talking to Satan (who was behind the sin pandemic) – “I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.” But unlike the surprise that COVID sprung on the leaders of our world earlier this year, God was not surprised by the arrival of sin.

God knew that sin would come to mankind and so before the foundations of the world, the greatest intellects – God the Father, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit – agreed on a plan to deal with sin. No expense was spared in this scheme to offer a cure. God would allow his own perfect, sinless and precious son, Jesus Christ, to bear the punishment of sin on man’s behalf. We all know the story where Jesus Christ died on the cross and then rose again the third day (demonstrating His victory over sin and death). From the time of Christ’s atonement on the cross, the cure has been clearly revealed to the world. The apostles of the early church began to declare it and the churches that stand on the Bible’s truth are declaring it still today.

Yet, we are still in the distribution phase of bringing this cure to the world. People still need to know there is a cure for their sin. Repentance followed by accepting the work of Jesus Christ by faith is truly a life-saving and life-transforming treatment. Through it, the Bible says we can be born again to a new life and a new hope. The efficacy rate for this solution for sin is 100% - there is no one who, by faith, can not be fully treated and cured by the blood that was shed by Jesus Christ for them. There is also no limits to the supply for this treatment as the Bible tells us that “whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.” (Romans 10:13).

It’s all very good news, indeed. That’s why we call it the “gospel” (which means “good news”). If the COVID vaccine had this prognosis, there would be no expense spared to get it to every single living person in the world today as quickly as possible. As Christians, we need to have that same urgent desire to get the gospel to people. In fact, that is exactly what Jesus told us to do: “Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.” (Mark 16:15). The consequences of sin are much greater than that of COVID. It consigns people to eternal death in hell and ONLY those with the cure found by faith in Jesus Christ will escape. May we as Christians be more concerned with distributing the gospel to those that are in desperate need today than anything else. After all, everyone you meet has been infected by sin and you can offer them a cure that is 100% effective (without any negative or unknown side effects)!