Christopher Bullock, an English actor and dramatist, uttered the following quote in the satire “The Cobbler of Preston” in 1716: “Tis impossible to be sure of anything but Death and Taxes.”
Yep, we got both. And when it comes to death and taxes, the accompanying emotion is often fear. That’s what we are seeing all around us now. We have a FEAR-pandemic. It’s spreading around the world. People are afraid of the coronavirus because they are afraid of death.
No one wants to die. There is something ingrained in our DNA that fights death tooth-and-nail. We were created for life. Death is an enemy, a part of the curse of sin. We hate it. Even Christians hate it, as they should.
But hating it as part of sin’s curse and fearing it are not the same thing. Christ Jesus conquered death, and all who come to Him have eternal life. Now we eagerly wait for that final enemy, death, to be forever destroyed. [1 Cor 15:20-28]
In the meantime, we live in the promise that “we walk by faith, not by sight,” and that “to be absent from the body [is] to be present with the Lord.” [2 Cor 5:7-8 NKJV ]
Whatever kills us sends us home to be with our LORD and Savior Christ Jesus. What a marvelous opportunity this FEAR-pandemic is to show the world a face of courage and joy that comes from our salvation in Christ!