Do I understand? Sure. I mean, the show must go on. People cannot live like this forever. We even seem to be going down in cases. But do I agree that it should be now?
Maybe I am biased. Things change when someone you care about is high risk, my wife being one of them. As people scream that they want the right to go back to work, my thought is about keeping my wife safe. I am not alone. There are many with high risk family members that are concerned about the virus and the effect it has on family members and the more we stay at home, the faster this is over. Perhaps it is selfish to force others to stay at home for my sake just a little longer? I do not think so.
Yes, it is complicated. On the one hand, there are those who need to work. Without a job they will not be able to pay the bills or eat. Should I consider them? Sure. But there are also those who are dying. I have several friends who have family members that have died because of this virus. What about them? Is your freedom worth forcing death on another individual? Giving their life for your freedom? Each side wants to be heard, and each side is fighting tooth and nail for that to happen.
There is no easy answer, but there still needs to be understanding. For those who want to go back to work: This quarantine is, first, to prevent people from spreading the virus to high risk people who are much more likely to have a fatal reaction, like my wife. Second, this is to prevent the virus from getting out of control, from allowing the number of cases/deaths becoming exponential, or for the cases to rise up yet again by going too early.
But, from what I see, most of the protesters are not about suffering hardship, but about losing their freedom. Who are you to tell me that I have to stay inside? What if I do not care about getting sick? In fact, it is all a bunch of fear talk anyways. The virus is not that bad. I mean, this is my life! Remember, this is not about you and what you believe, but about how it is affecting others. Perhaps, like other situations, we need to learn from history. Remember that the Spanish flu killed almost 50 million people.
But how does the Gospel fit into this situation?
The brokenness of this world is easy to see. Death and disease are not a part of God’s plan for this world, but a result of sin. He desires this world to be restored, which includes every part. He invites us to His table where the brokenness of this world can see His grace, forgiveness, and transformation. This only happens through repentance and faith. Christ came into this world to defeat death, restoring the sinner into His family.
This is the Easter story we finished celebrating a few weeks ago. We have a Savior who defeated sin and death through His death and resurrection. Christ died for our sins, Christ rose from the dead, He is alive!!! As wonderful as this sounds, that is not the complete picture of Christ’s sacrifice. Christ has defeated this world also (John 16:33)! He has not only saves a believer from sin and death but gave us His Spirit to break this world’s hold on us. This is our restoration.
Our response to the virus also should be a part of God’s restorative plan. Our fear, greed, anger, and other responses that have been corrupted by the fall, should be restored as if we are not living for ourselves. God has created us to be more, and for a good reason. We are representatives to this world of Him. There are those who have not repented and accepted Christ’s rule, aimlessly trapped in the attractiveness of this world. I say this to include those in the church.
The world is attractive, making you hold onto it tight, even into death itself. The world draws us in with money, power, self, and fear rather than generosity, grace, humility, and love. This does not attract lost sheep who are looking for answers. We should be different, calling them back to the arms of a wonderful Savior by acting more like Christ, who loved the world so much that He would die to break us free from our wandering hearts.
So, when we see the brokenness of this world, do not fear for what to come. Do not fight for your rights but lay them down. Attract this world with true goodness and grace because it is the goodness of God that leads to repentance. This is done by repenting and laying down our sin, our rights, and being made new by the power of His Spirit. Remember when we try to be the cure, all we get is corruption. Jesus must be the rescuer.
Finally, let us look to those around us with a compassionate heart, sharing the good news of the Gospel so they can share in His grace, forgiveness, and restoration. If you are still trapped in this world, first determine who you live for. You? Your family? Yous identity? Your party? Your religion? Who rules your heart? Repent every part to the one true God. Let us live in this world like we are truly from another one. In John 17:16, Jesus prays:
"I do not ask You to take them out of the world, but to keep them from the evil one. They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world."
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