Hope Beyond COVID-19

Why would someone who is not a Christian care anything about Easter, especially in a time where we can’t even go to church, and even more so in a time where there is so much suffering? How can you believe in a good God when there is so much sickness and disease and death spreading in a worldwide pandemic? That’s a good question.

How Can God Be Good In An Evil World?

 It’s certainly not the first time people have asked how can you believe in a good God in light of suffering in the world? But if I could, I’d like to maybe turn that question around and ask how can you not believe in God, and a good God at that, in light of suffering around the world? If you think about it, if there is no God then that means well when we die, that’s it. And during these days, some people are getting lucky, some people are not, there’s really no rhyme or reason to it.

And the end of the story for many people right now will be COVID-19, that will be the last word for them. But the reality of God totally changes that dynamic because there is a God who has created us, created man and woman from the beginning for perfect harmony with Him, with each other and with the world around them.

Problem is man and woman turned from God. And not just from the very beginning, every single one of us has turned from God to ourselves, trusted in ourselves over God. And as a result of our separation from God, we experience all the sorrow and sickness and suffering and death that we see around us in the world, but the good news of the Bible and what we celebrate at Easter is the reality that God has not left us alone in this world of sickness and sin and sorrow and suffering and death.

God Gives Us Hope Beyond COVID-19

God has come to us in the person of Jesus. And Jesus has done what none of us could ever do, He lived a perfect life with no sin against God, no separation from God. And then even though He had no sin to die for, He chose to die on a cross. Why? To pay the price for your sin and my sin. Jesus died on a cross to pay the price for our sins, and then three days later, what we celebrate on Easter, He rose from the dead in victory over sin and suffering and death. In other words, for Jesus, death did not have the last word. And He says to all who trust in Him, to all who believe in Him, to all who turn from their sin and trust in His love, you’ll be forgiven of all your sin, restored to relationship with God for all of eternity, such that when you die, your death will not be the last word.

You, through Jesus, have eternal life. That is the greatest news in the world right now for any and all who trust in Jesus. Death will not be the last word for you, COVID-19 is guaranteed not to be the last word for you. Instead, for all who trust in Jesus, the very worst thing that could happen to you has actually turned into the best thing that could happen to you, entrance into eternal life with the God who created you. And so I just want to ask you this question, do you know for sure that if you were to contract this virus and if you were to die for that reason or any other reason, do you know for sure that you have eternal life in heaven when you die?

And if the answer to that question is not a resounding yes in your heart, then I want to invite you, I want to implore you with urgency right now to put your trust in Jesus, the only one who has died for your sin and who has conquered death through His resurrection from the grave. Even right now, you can just pray in your heart to God and say, “God, I know I have sinned against you, that I’m separated from you by my sin.”

Trust In Jesus Today

But just pray and say, “Today I put my trust in Jesus, in what He did on the cross for me, in His resurrection from the dead, I believe.” The bible teaches in John 3:16, “God so loved the world that He gave His one and only son, that whoever believes in Him will never perish, but have everlasting life.” I invite you just to pray and put your faith in Jesus, and know that when you do you are forgiven of all your sin and reconciled to relationship with God as the Lord of your life not just now, but for all the eternity.

And when you do that, I want to encourage you, share that with someone else. Maybe somebody sent you this video, who knows, has a relationship with Jesus, I invite you to share that with them, ask questions. If you have any questions at all about your eternity, let me encourage you, let me urge you, don’t let another day go by without asking and answering those questions.

And then I hope on Easter Sunday you find yourself getting up with total hope and other worldly peace in the middle of a worldwide pandemic, because you know the one who has conquered sin and death, the one who will one day bring an end to all suffering, because you know Jesus who has risen from the dead. That is why Easter is important to every single one of us, especially during this time.