Day: May 24, 2020

Luke 17:33 “If you cling to your life, you will lose it, and if you let your life go, you will save it.”

In the spirit of last week’s post, I decided to conduct a simple thought experiment. I imagined myself gathering information like a man of the 16^th century. Where would I find facts and data before the existence of newspapers and long before the endless thrum of modern media? In such primitive circumstances, I would be forced to rely on two information sources: my own observations and the talk of people around me.

Applying this to the extraordinary worldwide phenomenon of COVID-19, here is what I observe:

1. 1. 1. The virus is an extreme rarity. A tiny fraction of the people I know have suffered from it.
      2. I personally know of zero COVID deaths. Of those who have fallen ill from the virus, everyone I know directly (or through someone else I know) has fully recovered.
      3. There has been no talk in my extended family, in my neighborhood, at church, or among co-workers of yet another family or section of town being engulfed by COVID-19. Absolutely none.
      4. I have yet to hear as much as a cough among the people I pass in the street or while shopping.
      5. I see no increase in hearses and ambulances racing about to deal with the dead and dying.
      6. Medical professionals I know are being furloughed or laid off. Hospital parking lots are empty.

Is this what a deadly, stealthy, and fast-moving disease looks like? No. It does not.

All of these observations are anecdotal, of course, as that is the nature of my thought experiment. But I am reporting the undeniable reality around me, a reality very different from the constant barrage of dire reports in the media. What to make of this? I don’t know. Certainly in other places outside my orbit, people are dying of COVID. And maybe all of the strict precautions and social distancing are producing astounding positive effects in my vicinity. Your situation may be very different than mine.

That brings me to Luke 17:33. Safety is important. But as a Christian, safety can never be my number one priority. Throughout history and in many parts of the world today, it is extremely hazardous to be a Christian, to gather as a church, to own a Bible, to communicate the reasons you believe in Jesus. Just the process of living – driving in traffic, helping a stranger, visiting an unfamiliar city, camping in the woods, changing careers, giving generously instead of hoarding – carries its own risks. If I try to cling to my life, I will certainly lose it. There is an eternal message here, but also one in the here and now: I will lose out on living as God desires me to live. I heard this theme echoed a couple of weeks ago while re-watching the 2002 movie, Tuck Everlasting, based on the book by Natalie Babbitt: “Don’t be afraid of death; be afraid of an unlived life.”

Jesus said it this way in John 10:10 – “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.”

Whether we’re in a time of wise precaution or irrational alarm, I really don’t know. But I’ve grown weary of human alienation, of seeing only the upper half of faces, of people veering to the opposite side of the street when I’m walking my dog, of the look of fear in some people’s eyes as I pass them in the supermarket aisle, of work and church meetings conducted exclusively through video calls. I’m hoping and praying that COVID-19 goes into the annals of history as little worse than the flu and that we’ll look back on this time with a chuckle at our naïveté, our rush into fear, and our unthinking conformity. That would be a great result for everyone.

Father, my life is in your hands, please let me live it to the full. In my exuberance, however, help me not to throw caution to the wind but to be considerate of those who are vulnerable to illness or paralyzed by fear. I ask for your wisdom. I place my trust in you.

———-

This week: Take a moment to conduct this same thought experiment for yourself. Gather only your own observations and experiences while consciously setting aside any data or news from the internet and television. And, while you’re at it, ask yourself if you know friends and family members whose jobs are threatened or who are now unemployed because of the decisions of the past three months. I personally know more than a few who are struggling this way. Jot down your observations in a journal and discuss them with a friend or family member – ideally in person over a meal at a re-opened restaurant. And keep praying.