From the Pastor…                  Control Issues

But the threat of a pandemic is different from that of a nerve agent, in that a disease can spread uncontrollably, long after the first carrier has succumbed. — Hannah Fry

I haven’t felt compelled to offer you a lot of comments about the present virus pandemic simply because you are already hearing enough about it from every other source of information out there. Since I am not a doctor nor an expert on the subject, you are better off listening to reliable sources of information. And I am sure that you are tired of hearing about it anyway.

If anything, this situation reminds us how little we control in our world. We like to think that we are in control, but we aren’t. It’s easy to suppose that government and world leaders have control, so they OUGHT TO DO SOMETHING! – But even governing officials and bodies have limited control.

And when we feel out of control, we get afraid; and fear can stymie effective responses and complicate our emotional well-being. An honest understanding of life leads us to realize that there has always been MUCH we can’t control.  The best we can do is to maximize that which we can affect or change. – In this situation we can be diligent in social distancing, washing hands, and all the other steps you already know about.

We put our faith in the One Who Is Truly in Control: our loving Heavenly Father.

Yes, God has let go of the world and all the evil and suffering in it is not His doing. He is instead the Repairing God who heals, helps, comforts, and, yes, resurrects.

So, while we won’t likely get to gather on Easter Sunday, we will still celebrate the fact that our God conquers death and keeps us living beyond this life. We claim the promise of Jesus who declared: “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives by believing in me will never die. Do you believe this?” – John 11:25-26.

Notice how he asked: “Do you believe this?” – If we do, we have peace about not being in control.  God is in control and He is the God of Life and the living.

                 God’s best to you,     

                            Lee