Mitchell Landress

Winter is a time when many people get sick and my body usually keeps the schedule open for at least one illness that will ultimately find me in the doctor’s office. The onset of a cold usually starts slow –sniffles, sneezing, coughs – and then moves down into my chest affecting my voice, my energy level, and worst of all - my mood. Sin is much like a virus or infection. That is, there is a problem on the inside, but the symptoms only show up on the outside. A runny nose or cough are not the real problem, but they are symptoms we can treat by ourselves through home remedies, over-the-counter medicine and cough drops. But in order to get to the source of the illness we usually need a trip to the physician. Over the past several months I have been in at least four conversations with people who describe their life before Christ in terms of “drinking and smoking.” One man based his “goodness” on having never done either. But these two items are only minor symptoms of a much larger problem,