COVID-19 has gotten the world\u2019s attention.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
With our daily routines suspended, with both work and play at a standstill, the distractions have dissipated. We\u2019ve stopped and slowed down long enough to wonder. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
I speak not of wondering when major league sports will resume. I speak neither of when there will be sufficient toilet paper on the shelves or when hugs and handshakes will again be socially acceptable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We\u2019ve stopped and slowed down long enough to wonder about what means more.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n There\u2019s a reason that Google searches for prayer have increased exponentially over the last 4 weeks. \u201cSkyrocketing,\u201d in fact, might be the more accurate term. As University of Copenhagen Associate Professor of Economics Jeanet Sinding Bentzen researched and reports, it\u2019s happening across the globe. Says Bentzen, \u201cThe rise in prayer intensity supersedes what the world has seen for years.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n I suppose it doesn\u2019t surprise me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Spreading so swiftly with serious symptoms and an unprecedented, potentially high mortality rate, COVID-19 is scary. Why? Because it reveals what we already knew.<\/p>\n\n\n\n As perhaps best put by my wise friend\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cDeath is inevitable and control is an illusion.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n As we hear increasingly more of those inflicted with the pandemic, we get a sobering glimpse of our own mortality. Our death will happen one day, and it\u2019s out of our control. <\/p>\n\n\n\n I suppose, therefore, it also doesn\u2019t surprise me that the coronavirus shutdown overlaps with Easter this year. Not with Passover either. I mean, sometimes, often, precisely because of those daily routines and work and play, I don\u2019t always take the time to think and reflect about what means more\u2026<\/em> about who God is and who we are in relationship to him\u2026 I don\u2019t always take the time to ask the bigger questions\u2026 who is God? \u2026 who is man\/woman? \u2026 what is salvation?\u2026 what does history say?\u2026 what happens after this?\u2026 how can I be sure I\u2019ve done enough to get into heaven?\u2026 what am I ignoring because it\u2019s easier or more convenient?\u2026 what have I refused to wrestle with?\u2026 Easter helps me with that. It helps me first of all in that it is incredibly, widely celebrated by billions across the globe. It is the celebration of Jesus Christ, living and breathing on this planet, teaching tons of wisdom \u2014 including that he was God\u2019s son, who was then tortured and crucified, but then (a pretty big \u2018then\u2019 here)<\/em> actually came back to life. Jesus beat death, the only person on the planet to ever do so. Death was not <\/em><\/strong>inevitable<\/em> for him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n What helps me next is knowing how all the world\u2019s major religions \u2014 even though they choose not to worship Jesus \u2014 respect him and verify his existence. For example\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n It fascinates me, too, in that even the religions which existed prior to Jesus walking on this planet have come to incorporate him in their teaching or recognition of Earthly life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n All that to say that it\u2019s often easy to not ask the questions about what means more. <\/em>Sometimes we\u2019re distracted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But with COVID-19\u2019s impact on Easter 2020, and the glaring reality before each of us that death is inevitable, I can\u2019t help\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u2026 but wonder.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Blessings, friends\u2026 wherever you are\u2026 whatever you believe\u2026 knowing there are wise next steps for each of us to take\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n Respectfully\u2026 be safe\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n AR<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" COVID-19 has gotten the world\u2019s attention. With our daily routines suspended, with both work and play at a standstill, the distractions have dissipated. We\u2019ve stopped and slowed down long enough to wonder. I speak not of wondering when major league sports will resume. I speak neither of when there will be sufficient toilet paper on … <\/p>\n
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\nI don\u2019t always take the time to wonder about what means more.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n