In March 2020, without warning, most of us were asked (or forced) to leave many good things behind. And we found ourselves in a very new place – “quarantine” and “social distancing” – wearing safety masks and gloves for the sake of others.
And now, in the midst of this COVID pandemic, we are in a world that seems shaken by uncertainty and fear.
Many of us are suffering personal loss in this pandemic. Many are suffering abrupt unemployment; many have lost loved ones to COVID; and many people live with the gnawing uncertainty of caring for loved ones.
And for most of us, quarantine and isolation means losing the freedom to enjoy the “good and normal” things of life – like going out to a favorite restaurant… shopping at the local Farmer’s Market … strolling through the museums … picnicking at the park… going to a baseball game…
Like everyone, I hope for the day when I can do these “good and normal” things once again
But if we’ve learned anything recently, it’s that we aren’t guaranteed of anything, much less the good and normal things in our life.
So, it might be a mistake to harbor a heart-felt, personal hope that life will be “good again” some day – a hope that once this quarantine is over, everything we need and want in life will be returned to us, and we’ll be “good.”
Frankly, I can feel the tug in my heart to find assurance in that hope - that one day, these good and refreshing things will be returned to us, and that I can relax again. I feel the lure of hoping for a life that will be better, and somehow that “better” will provide peace and joy.
And yet, this lure or tug in my heart feels a lot like idolatry to me.
We tend to think that idols are inherently evil. But an idol is anything we desire, or seek after, in place of God himself. In fact, our idols can be some of the good things given to us by a good and loving God. We can look to his good gifts for comfort and hope before we want to trust him or know him.
It is interesting that this COVID crisis is happening during the Christian Easter season. Easter is all about the resurrection of Jesus Christ, and his resurrection is all about hope.
As Christians, we share a “…living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ”
For those who love Christ, “hope” is not wishful thinking. Hope is not simply wanting the best, or trying hard to think the best. Hope is not seeking the assurance that “we’ll all make it through this!”
A “living hope” is the expectancy that God is all we truly need. That in him, we can find true and lasting peace and comfort and provision.
Christ’s resurrection makes possible a “living hope” that can bring joy and peace in the midst of sorrow and fear. This kind of hope is alive with the expectancy that we will know the power of Jesus’ resurrection in our hearts and in our lives.
The theme of hope is echoed in a recent article by my friend, Esau McCaulley in Christianity Today. Esau writes, “The somber season of Lent seems perfectly suited to the moment. This is a time of national lament. But as we turn the corner toward Easter, dare we say more? Dare we speak of joy and resurrection in a world that feels like it’s in the shadow of death? If the prophets of the Old Testament have anything to teach us, it’s that precisely in the darkest moments of our history, we need divinely inspired and freshly articulated hope.”
The resurrection is proof that God keeps his word, and that he is everything he claims to be – our rock, our refuge, our redeemer; our healer, our helper, our hope; he is the one who holds us in the palm of his hands; he is the Lord of our lives, the lover of our souls, the life of the world.
So, I close with this prayer for you, this Easter season: May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope. (Romans 15.13)
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