We are in Covid times and if you are a sport enthusiast you would have heard the term Bio-bubble. A bio-bubble is a safe and secure environment isolated from the outside world to minimise the risk of COVID-19 infection. In this blog, I would like to extend this thought to Christian living; How about asking ourselves Do we have a bubble…a safe & secure environment that minimises the risk of sin of the world?

We should have an insulation from sinning as well as protection from the sin of others. I was reflecting on the passage (Genesis 34 & 35) of our Bible Study Fellowship and I  inferred that a bubble which provides a safe & secure environment that minimizes the risk of sin of the world is the Bethel-bubble. Being in the Bethel-bubble ensures God’s Protection & Providence. Sound’s interesting enough? Stay with me and read along 😊

Genesis 34 captures a severe crisis. Jacob returned back to his father’s place, he reconciled with Esau and settled in Shechem. Life in Shechem brought immense trouble to the Jacob’s. Dinah, his daughter was raped by a local ruler. An unapologetic Shechem came with an offer to marry her for whatever price he was willing to pay. Jacob was silent & he did nothing about this. But in a deceitful response, Jacob’s sons took things on their hand and did a horrific murderous revenge. Dinah was a victim of a horrendous sin, and as a revenge her brothers committed a gruesome sin.

The violence against a young woman, the brutal rape, the unapologetic, guiltless mind coming for a compromise, the deceitful thoughts & a premediated brutal murder present a disgraceful story. This tale of the ancient of times does reflect today’s reality as well. The reality of sin is real. Putting this in contemporary context, today we see the celebration of lust in the world, sexual abuse of girls, honor killing, justification & glorification of sin, brutal violence between groups is a common sight we see.  Naturally, people hold on to their thoughts & desires which convert as evil deeds putting self above all. If evil is left unchecked, it escalates and leads to total chaos & destruction.

Genesis 35 provides a solution, After this crisis at Shechem, God appears to Jacob and asks him to go to Bethel, settle there & built an altar for God. Jacob responds by commanding his family to purify themselves, move to Bethel where he built an altar. Bethel means house of God. From the disaster at Shechem, Jacob moves in to Bethel.

It’s not about the places, it’s about the presence of God & walking with God. If we rewind 2 decades back in Jacob’s life. It was in this place he saw a dream of a stairway connecting the heavens. He vowed then to come back there if he returns safely & build an altar.  If only Jacob moved to Bethel instead of Shechem, this horrendous episode would haven’t happened. Only God can help us to deal with the reality of sin. Like how God appeared after Jacob’s fall and took him to Bethel, God reaches out to every individual when sin plays havoc in his/her life.

Jesus Christ, God’s only son came in search of every person to address this very problem of sin. When we align our plans, decisions, deeds in His ways, we will be in the Bethel-Bubble. Only the Good news of Jesus Christ & His Words can keep us away from sinning & the impact of sin. We have to take caution from the wisdom of His word. Today when Lust is celebrated, we have to discern the difference between Lust & Love. We have to teach our Children about that. When the PubG & Gaming culture glorifies rage, killing & violence, there is a need to understand the majesty of God’s creation & worthiness of a life. When deceit, corruption & money rule our day-to-day lives, we need to persevere the truth. We need to make the world a better place

Sin isn’t only about the horrific crimes. Sin is about “missing the mark”. We fall short of in every role we have. We miss the mark. We can be a “better” we. A better son, daughter, father, mother, Uncle, Aunty, brother, sister, student, employer, employee, teacher, friend…. the list goes on. We can strive to be “better” only if we know the “best”.

The best is our Lord Jesus Christ, he is the absolute, the ultimate reality and the epitome of idealness. Each step we take “not to miss the mark”; “to be “better” is towards “Christ-likeness”. It is towards the “Bethel-Bubble” which is a safe & secure environment that minimizes the risk of sin of the world. Staying in the “Bethel-Bubble” is a every-day, every-hour, every-minute, every-second affair. It’s a continuous walk with God.

Yes, Walking with God takes us to Bethel & Walking without God leaves us at Shechem.  Are you in the Bethel-bubble? or Are you left behind in Shechem?