One of the dangers of living in 2020 America is the feeling of invincibility. In other times and places, people expected war to take some of their sons, childbirth to take some of their daughters, and disease to take many of their lives. They knew, way better than we do, that even the most precious blessings of this life are temporary.
That’s easy for us to forget in a world of Wi-Fi, fancy coffee, and childhood vaccinations.
In fact, before the Coronavirus, we were tempted to think Isaiah was exaggerating when he warned God’s people, “All people are like grass, and all their faithfulness is like the flowers of the field. The grass withers and the flowers fall,” (Isaiah 40:6-7) Some stuff might be temporary, but surely not “all,” Isaiah!
But the last few months have turned our staunch objections into humble admissions. Who would have thought that professional sports would ever just stop? That national borders would close? That international travel would be grounded? That church services would be suspended? That Disney’s magical gates would stay shut?
Any and everything can be taken away. Our most reliable systems can’t always be relied upon. Everything is temporary. Everything, that is, except . . . God’s promises.
Isaiah contrasts, “The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of our God endures forever.” (Isaiah 40:8) While we admit that everything earthly is temporary, we smile at the fact that God’s Word endures forever. No closing can close the book on his promises to us. You will never get an email from the-holy-one-@-Gmail-dot-com apologizing for a change in plans. Nothing can change God’s plans, no matter how much our plans change.
This virus has taught us how temporary everything on earth is. And how wonderful it is to have a Word that endures forever. So as you read your Bible today, recall how nothing can stop Jesus’ promises from coming true. Nothing.
If that’s the only blessing in these crazy times, it will prove, in one more way, that Christ > Corona.
GOD BLESS YOU.
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Arthur Scott
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