Responding to a Pandemic

The world is currently dealing with the spread and impact of a new coronavirus, COVID-19, a pandemic which has resulted in the loss of over one hundred thousand lives worldwide.  Over the past few days and weeks, there has been much discussion about whether local and national governments, such as the United States, have taken sufficient measures to mitigate the devastating effects of this virus and to protect the individuals who are working on the front lines in this healthcare crisis.  Last week was initially predicted to be one of the worst weeks for the United States, with regards to the number of casualties from COVID-19.

This weekend is also the time of year that billions of individuals worldwide reflect on the way that Heaven has responded to another pandemic, one that has more devastating consequences than those resulting from COVID-19.  When Adam and Eve listened to the voice of the tempter and disobeyed God in the Garden of Eden, they caught the virus of selfishness, which manifests itself in sin, the violation of God's universal law of love.  This virus is contagious:  one third of holy angels caught it (Revelation 12:4).  Not only is the virus of sin contagious; it is also congenital—it is present in all human beings at birth (Psalm 51:5).  Scripture tells us that “all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23).  The symptoms of this virus are anger, jealousy, hatred, insecurity, fear, and selfish desires.  But ultimately, this virus has the horrific consequence of eternal death—a death with no resurrection (Romans 6:23).

There was no doubt in Heaven that something had to be done about the entrance of sin into our world.  Something had to be done to mitigate the effects of sin upon the newly created Planet Earth.  Fortunately, God had a plan in place to rescue humankind from sin.  In The Desire of Ages, a classic work on the life of Christ, author Ellen White states:  “God did not ordain that sin should exist, but He foresaw its existence, and made provision to meet the terrible emergency.  So great was His love for the world, that He covenanted to give His only-begotten Son, ‘that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.’  John 3:16.”*

God Himself came down to earth in the person of Jesus Christ.  Jesus became a member of the human race and lived in this sin-contaminated earth for thirty-three years.  Yet while He lived among us, He did not catch the virus of sin and selfishness.  He remained pure and undefiled.  His purity, holiness, and love incurred the wrath of the corrupt religious leaders of His day.  Then, in a move that shocked everyone, including those closest to Him, Jesus willingly allowed Himself to be arrested by the religious authorities and executed as a dangerous criminal.  Yet this was all a part of God's plan to save humanity.  As Jesus suffered the sentence of crucifixion, He experienced the horrors of the eternal death that is the punishment for sin.  He took the punishment for all our sins, our mistakes, our wrongdoings—all to provide a cure for the virus of sin.  In the love He demonstrated at the cross, we find the antidote for the selfishness that plagues the human heart.   What's more, His resurrection from the dead demonstrated the validity of His sacrifice and His power over sin and death.  Jesus Christ lives today; through Him we have the hope of eternal life!

God has done—and is doing—everything in His power to save humanity from the virus of sin.

Today God extends to everyone the invitation to come to Him and be cured of selfishness, guilt, regret, and sin.  Since Jesus took the punishment for our sins in His death at Mount Calvary, God the Father can legally overlook and forgive our sins.  His power then works within our hearts, making us more and more like Him in character.  He has promised that one day we will stand in His presence, with every trace of the virus of sin forever removed (Philippians 1:6; Jude 25).

God has done—and is doing—everything in His power to save humanity from the virus of sin.  His response to this pandemic has been par excellence.  He invites those who have experienced His salvation to participate in Heaven's urgent efforts to “flatten the curve,” to mitigate the number of casualties from the pandemic of sin by inviting others to experience His salvation.  Armed with Heaven's personal protective equipment (the power of the Holy Spirit), which will never run out, we can care for those who are suffering from the effects of sin and point them to the wonderful Savior that we have in Jesus.

While diseases like COVID-19 are part of the devastating effects that the entrance of sin has had upon this planet, the Bible gives us the assurance that one day God will put an end to all of the pain and heartache that sin has caused (Revelation 21:4).  Because of Jesus, we can have hope for the future, even when the going gets rough.

Today, in the midst of the global coronavirus pandemic, I'm thankful for Jesus, His work of salvation from sin, and the hope He gives us for the future.  How about you?


__________
*Ellen G. White, The Desire of Ages (Mountain View, CA: Pacific Press Publishing Association, 1898), 22.