The Coronavirus, The Cross, The Curse, and The Cure
The coronavirus has forced us into isolation and separation.
Our family experienced this as my mother-in-law spent a considerable amount of time in the hospital during the outbreak. Though not infected with COVID-19, our family was affected as we were not permitted to visit her.
Our circumstance was certainly not as dire as some. We have heard the horror stories of people infected with the virus dying alone in quarantine.
Please understand. We are not just fighting a virus; we are experiencing a curse.
The world God created was not like this. God created man in His image blessed him with the ability to be fruitful, multiply, and fill the earth. God's design was for us to exist in the overflow of togetherness.
God created us with the capability to connect. We can connect with God in communion and with others in community. We develop friendships and start families. We are capable of organization and cooperation.
When we get together, the results are powerful. We start businesses and solve problems. Unified people make an impact.
But sin causes separation. In Genesis 3, the man and woman who walked with God hid from Him. In Genesis 2, Adam praised God for the woman, but after sin he blamed God for her. In Genesis 4, Adam and Eve start a family but lose two sons. One they lose to murder and the other separates himself from the family in protest of the penalty of sin.
Every page of the Bible bears this tension between the blessing of togetherness and the curse of separation.
We experience this tension as well when a friend becomes an enemy, a family splinters, a marriage is torn in two, or a child strays.
And here we go again with coronavirus. We can't be together. We need someone or something to cure this virus and end our separation.
The Separation of Christ on the Cross
Jesus said something from this cross of which we need to take note.
My God, My God, why have you forsaken me? Mark 15:34
With that statement, we realize that Jesus also tasted this curse of separation. Jesus is not just dying. He is dying for us.
As awful as this virus is, we need to meditate on this moment and connect it to the cross.
Coronavirus has forced us into temporary isolation. As frustrating as this is, we can see God's grace in how a temporary situation reminds us of our ultimate reality.
If we die in our sin we are not in temporary quarantine but in eternal separation from God and one another. The coronavirus reminds us that we don't just need a cure; we need rescue, a Savior! In the grace of God a virus becomes a witness that we should repent of sin and turn to the resurrected Christ for salvation. His cross was the curse and His resurrection the cure. Jesus has conquered the curse of separation. Turn to Him for salvation from separation.
Bible Study and Challenge
Read Psalm 22. This passage is an expression of the pain of separation but notice how it is also a Messianic Psalm that points us to the cross.
- How is the pain of separation expressed emotionally, mentally, and physically in this passage?
- How do you see Jesus in this passage?
- List ways this Psalm calls for us to praise Jesus.
Recall a situation of separation that you have either recently experienced or are currently experiencing. Use Psalm 22 as a template for prayer. Express to God the pain you feel in this separation. Ask for His strength, redemption, and to help you stay faithful through this time.
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