Yesterday I read a news article that literally listed all the reasons we should be afraid of COVID.
I realize they were trying to communicate how seriously they feel about the risk, but their approach lacked any hope. The article ended with the end of the list itself; there was no uplifting conclusion about “we’re in this together,” or “one day this will all be behind us.” None of that.
Just reasons to be scared.
The stakes are high
Our world is changing. We know it. We can feel it, and coronavirus is not the only culprit.
Tension between friends, family, neighbors, complete strangers is ratcheting up. Political parties are ideologically farther and farther apart. Laws and state orders and city ordinances are being discussed that a year ago would have seemed unthinkable.
It’s not likely that the world will be improving anytime soon. Even if it did, there is no way around the fact that no matter how good it gets here, we will one day face our own death, rushing us into an eternity that will be nothing like anything we’ve ever imagined. Whether we enjoy heaven with our Savior or are forever banished from His presence depends on where our hope is now. As Christians, our hope lies in the fact that our deepest fears have already been defeated.
Not everyone has this hope. Many people—including, perhaps, the author of that article—see only the reasons to live in fear.
When we think of those who don’t know our hope, we usually think of another list—a bullet-pointed reminder of why we should share the Good News with others:
- God commanded us to (this is true)
- Eternity is a long time to be wrong (also true)
- Our city/state/country/world would be better off if more people knew Jesus (very true, but besides the point)
We know we should tell others about this hope. But if these are our only reasons, we’re missing the heart of why.
I once was lost
“He lived among the tombs,” the Bible says. Not even chains and shackles could hold him down, stop him from his self-destructive and dangerous life. So the people had long stopped trying.
But when Jesus came, the man ran to meet Him. The demons that controlled the man recognized Who was standing before them, and begged Him not to send them to eternal punishment just yet. The pigs, they suggested. “Send us to the pigs.”
“So he gave them permission,” the Bible says. The results were dramatic: “And the unclean spirits came out and entered the pigs; and the herd, numbering about two thousand, rushed down the steep bank into the sea and drowned in the sea.”
The man of the tombs became a new person. When the crowds came, alerted by the pig farmers’ reports, they found the man wearing clothes and talking to Jesus.
This was not possible! What kind of power and love could do something like this?
In fear, the people begged Jesus to leave. As He started to go, the rescued man begged to be allowed to tag along.
But this time Jesus did not give permission.
“‘Go home to your friends,’” He said, “‘and tell them how much the Lord has done for you.’”
So he did. The former man of the tombs walked among the living, announcing to everyone how much Jesus had done for him. “And everyone marveled,” the Bible says, because the people knew what kind of man he used to be. They listened as the one who used to defy their efforts to restrain him now came to them with news of hope.
“I once was lost, but now I’m found,” the slaveseller-turned-hymnwriter once said.
And it’s the finding of us that changes us, from afraid to hopeful. From disillusioned and self-focused to loved and ready to love.
Hope-filled love
“Who gave mercy my address? Or told it how to get to my room? Didn’t it know a sinner lived in it?…Without asking me my permission, a good God had come to my rescue.” – Jackie Hill Perry, Gay Girl Good God
We all have our own stories of how God found us, but the crux is always the same: God loved us, sought us out, rescued us, and is changing us from terrified sinners to children known for their love—and ready to share the reason for it.
We share about our hope not just because we should, but because we are changed people now. We have been given unshakeable hope side-by-side with an everlasting love that doesn’t stop with us. Sharing that hope and love is part of who we are, not just what we do.
Love seeks the lost.
Just like Love sought us.
“We love because He first loved us.” 1 John 4:19
Photo by Tolga Ahmetler on Unsplash
