This past Saturday the 20-year-old Brazilian beauty queen Mariana Bridi died from complications related to an internal infection. The bacteria that killed the former Miss World contestant is known to be resistant to multiple kinds of antibiotics.
Bridi fell ill in December and was diagnosed with kidney stones. However, her condition worsened and eventually the doctors notices that the bacteria had invaded her bloodstream. The flow of oxygen to her limbs was reduced and as a result, her limbs were all amputated. She died a short time later.
Now I will not pretend to speculate on Ms. Bridi’s spiritual condition, nor is that the focus of this post. Rather, the chain of events here serve to be a vivid reminder of the silent, relentless, and merciless ravaging of sin.
There can perhaps be no better picture of a religious person than the external beauty that accompanies pageant winners. Religious people have it all together. They are often admired and mimicked. However, the emphasis is always upon the externals, the show, if you will.
The gospel on the other hand is not all about externals and earthly beauty. After all, Jesus was “like one from whom men hide their face He was despised, and we did not esteem Him” (Is. 53.3b). The gospel promotes the radical invasion of grace to wage war upon the sinfulness of humanity. You may rightly say that true recipients of saving grace look more like lepers and amputees than beauty pageant winners.
The silent and pervasive destruction of sin is ever present in all of humanity. The only solution to this grotesque disease is the powerful work of Jesus Christ. Through Christ’s obedient life and death he purchased life and destroyed the deadly curse of sin. It is only in Christ that men and women may stand spiritually healthy. Otherwise we are merely counting down the ultimate deterioration and destruction of our souls.
Christ is indeed valuable to those whom have seen themselves to be sick and in need of healing. If only church members would inspect the diagnosis of the gospel.
