Grasping the eternal in the time of coronavirus

It may very well be that the entire month of April will be more “social distancing.” Many states have “stay at home” orders in place, working hard to force social distancing so the virus can’t keep spreading.

It does “seem” the high intensity numbers of those infected may have passed, looking at statistics of daily reporting. That doesn’t mean we will see a decline in reported cases in drastic numbers. Two weeks from now will be a better indication.

Life has been dramatically disrupted. We haven’t had a church service in a month and probably won’t for another month. Easter services will be held online for the most part.

Overall, I am sure we will all be “okay.” What is also true is we just won’t be the same. This is a disruptor in the magnitude of 9/11. The impact on society is deep. It also reveals our souls in this time.

Times like 9/11, Hurricane Katrina, and others reveal the deepest parts of who we are, both individually and corporately.

This is a time of examination. We need the silence to penetrate our lives.

My own life is trapped with the temporary. When the “stuff” of life gets disrupted, I can tend to get upset. Where is my vision? On the temporary or the eternal?

Next week is Holy Week. It will be a “forced” silence like never before. It will be a deeper time of examination than I’ve had during any other Holy Week. There won’t be services to attend. Good Friday will be completely on my own.

It is a time where I know I need to fast and pray. I need to allow the Spirit to work more deeply in my life. It is a time to refocus on the eternal.

Compete in the good fight of faith. Grab hold of eternal life—you were called to it, and you made a good confession of it in the presence of many witnesses. (1 Ti 6:12, CEB)

Let us grab hold of eternal life in the time of coronavirus.