COVID-19 is Freaking the World Out!

This is the first time I’ve seen in my adult life that most of the world has shuttered in fear. Whether we are someone who makes fun of it or someone who is filling the house with toilet paper, this COVID-19 outbreak is disrupting everyone’s humdrum lives. I was thinking about this question, “What is at the core of this global fear?” I’m sure we all have lots of answers, but entertain this one that I was thinking about:

The virus is killing people, and we can’t control it. This virus is destabilizing our world and showing us how short and fragile life is. Death is freaking people out! And it’s totally understandable to be scared of dying. Death was never meant to be. We all hate death. We all want to control our own destinies.

So, what hope do we have to offer? There was this man who once said that death wasn’t the end. He promised that anyone could live forever after death. He declared that he was eternal life. But, he said that the only way we could live forever was to give up control over our life and follow him. Crazy, right?

Well, that would be crazy if he didn’t back up his claims by proving that he was truly eternal life. How did he do this? He did it by dying. Ooops. Sounds bad, right? It would have been…except this man who was dead as doornail revived himself back from the dead after three days.

This man is Jesus, and he is alive today! He is coming back to raise those who have believed and followed Jesus from the dead and offers real hope that defies the fears of the coronavirus. You can have this hope!

“Once we, too, were foolish and disobedient. We were misled and became slaves to many lusts and pleasures. Our lives were full of evil and envy, and we hated each other. But—When God our Savior revealed his kindness and love, he saved us, not because of the righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He washed away our sins, giving us a new birth and new life through the Holy Spirit. He generously poured out the Spirit upon us through Jesus Christ our Savior. Because of his grace he made us right in his sight and gave us confidence that we will inherit eternal life.”

Titus 3:3–7