Ransomware

I learned a new word recently: ransomware. Ransomware is a type of computer virus which hijacks the data on your computer and won’t let you access it unless you pay a ransom.

On May 12 of this year, hackers unleashed a ransomware called “WannaCry” on the world. It targeted a weakness in the Microsoft Windows operating system and wreaked havoc around the globe.

In the end, over 230,000 computers in more than 150 countries were infected by the virus which demanded a $300 ransom (paid in the internet currency Bitcoin) to allow you to access the information on your computer.

Businesses, government agencies and even hospitals were forced to shut down temporarily because of the virus. It literally made thousands of people wanna cry.

Thankfully experts and authorities quickly discovered methods to protect computers from the virus and the number of infections soon slowed to a trickle.

You are infected with a virus. It has hijacked your life in every way. From the moment you were conceived, you were infected with a ransomware called “sin.”

Sin is sadly now a part of your operating system. No matter what you do, no matter how hard you try, you cannot get rid of that virus yourself. It is a part of who you are. Sin manifests itself in our mistakes and failures. Sin colors our words and dirties our thoughts. Sin hijacks our lives and families and marriages.

It holds us ransom. We are its slaves. It often makes us wanna cry.

The irony, however, is that, because we are infected, we often willingly submit to its control. A part of us loves the virus. A part of us wants to sin. We suffer from the Stockholm syndrome. We form an alliance with our captor.

Thankfully God loved us so much, he paid the ransom. He paid the price of our freedom, not with gold or silver (or Bitcoin), but with his holy precious blood and innocent suffering and death.

Death and hell are the payment for sin. But God loved you so much, he sent his Son Jesus to suffer that death and hell in your place. Jesus paid the ransom. All those who believe in him have a home waiting for them in heaven where they will be forever free from sin, death and the devil.

While you are here on this earth, however, you will still be infected with the virus. It is still a part of your operating system. But God has given you the tools to fight against the ransomware of sin. His Word and Sacraments give us the trust and strength we need to fight against the allures and entrapments of sin.

So keep going to church. Keep reading your Bible. Keep taking Holy Communion every chance you get. That is our antivirus which helps us in our struggle against sin.

And when the sin virus rears its ugly head in your life, turn to your Savior Jesus and trust that he has paid the ransom. You are forgiven. One day you will be free from the virus of sin.

That truth should truly make us wanna cry … for joy.