It was the first weekend of the suggested quarantine by President Trump. My in-laws were in town, and I was steadily forming hamburger patties for the grill.
The flood gates opened.
All of the emotions flooded out at one time. Panic. Fear. Relief. Anger. More. Jeremy noticed and stopped for a minute to have a quick eschatological discussion. That's heavy stuff for hamburger making. But it's what I needed in that moment. I needed to hear the gospel. I needed to hear this pandemic wasn't it. It's not what our lives are to revolve around. It's not what we put our hope in, and it's not what we fear. I NEEDED TO HEAR THAT.
Our Pastor has a unique and pointed way of saying things. He is gifted by the Spirit. Easter Sunday while he was preaching, I'll never forget what he said. I'll paraphrase, but it went something like this: "Maybe.. maybe all of this is happening to pry away our grip on this world and prepare us for the next.." That's what I needed to hear.
You see, we are all going to have varying level of opinions about this pandemic situation.
You see, we could easily argue about whether or not you should wear a mask.
You see, we could all throw around our two cents about whether children should be back in school or not.
You see, we could wipe down every shopping car.. or we could lick every door knob. The virus is still there.
By the grace of God I hope one day we will see a sense of normalcy -- not new normal -- but normalcy.
Until then, we will labor and we continue living our lives moving away from the things we hold dear and looking to Him. We, Americans, we are an expressive bunch. And I'll be the first to admit, I've done little to point others to Christ and the Truth during this time. But instead of us voicing so much of an opinion about our masks, why don't we start telling others about the Savior. THIS PLACE. This is not it.
And the more that happens in 2020, the more I realize it. And the more I realize it, the more I'm thankful. And the more I'm thankful, the more I'm looking to the Savior. And the more I'm looking to the Savior, then HE IS GLORIFIED.
Just maybe, friends, He's prying away your grip. He's prying away the grip of a nation, until we humble ourselves under His mighty Hand.
And this, This is what we need to hear.
No comments