Several posts back I wrote about diabetes and how it can mimic the Christian walk. The name was ‘Trust the Numbers’. Now, I’m no expert on diabetes or the Christian walk, but I do work for an endocrinologist and have walked the path of the Christian since I was 7. Than sounds like that commercial that states “… but I did stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night!” Anyhoo, I had a conversation with a patient of my doctor’s that follows along that line. She is a therapist who is diabetic and has been seeing my doctor for several years now. This last year has been a difficult one for her. Because of the deaths of family members, sickness and other things, she has not been taking care of herself the way that she should. I also have a friend who has not been following her diabetes the way she should either who has just begun to make the choices she needs to. Add to those two, a dear friend has fallen back into a sinful life that he walked away from years ago. These three stories got me to thinking…

I have always been a fan of happy endings. This is a shock to those of you who know me, I’m aware! I like things that can be fixed and don’t ever have to be dealt with ever again. Hard to believe that someone my age has that kind of mindset, huh? But I’ve always had my head in the clouds and like the ends of books, movies and shows to wrap up and resolve everything. So, here I am in my 40’s thinking that maybe I have it wrong. Just as diabetes is a condition that must be dealt with until the end of one’s life, so is sin. Just because you get your blood sugars under control this moment, doesn’t mean that they will STAY under control. Every hour, minute, and food or drink taken in (or not) effects the blood sugar of a diabetic. Every choice we make effects the moments of our lives. The person struggling with pornography has to guard every moment on the internet. The alcoholic has to guard against every temptation to drink. The compulsive shopper has to guard their money and budget.

When a diabetic begins to experience fluctuating sugars, they have many tools at their disposal. The meter can tell them exactly what their sugar is. There is insulin that can be taken to bring the sugar down. There are things to take orally to raise the sugar. If there are extremes, the patient has the option to contact a doctor or hospital. Each of these steps are the choice of the patient. When a diabetic ignores the signs, when they choose NOT to use any of these tools, there is only one result. Death. If there is not intervention by others, the diabetic dies. If we ignore the Holy Spirit’s voice, His ‘meter’ if you will, sin overtakes us. If we are still struggling after repentance, we have the Godly family to call upon. He even provides Godly therapists and counselors for those of us who need deeper intervention. Each of these steps are the choice of the sinner. They cannot be forced upon us. If we choose to ignore our sin and choose not to use the tools He has given to us, there can only be one result. Spiritual death.

The beautiful thing that can happen to the sinner is this… We have a LOT more time than a diabetic has. While a diabetic may only have hours, we have a longsuffering God. He can give us days, months, years to return to Him. Don’t loose hope if your loved one is in the middle of what would be called a diabetic crisis in medical terminology. They are on God’s timetable. Pray for them. Continue to lift their names up to Him. Do not loose hope. If they have tasted and seen that the Lord is good, they will begin to crave Him again. If they haven’t, they can begin to crave what they have never had.