This pandemic has a light at the end of the tunnel. Millions of us are imprisoned at home, glued to the electronic devices we thought we loved so much, watching for news of a cure for COVID-19 and an economic solution to prevent us from losing our homes. Just like that, we are united in our humanity.
Recent years were marked by division. We attacked each other and demanded compliance to ideals and philosophies. Politics replaced faith, and group identities replaced family. Now people on the right and left lay down their weapons to focus one what we’ve actually always agreed on: looking after the needs and welfare of people. In North America, leaders on the right and left in both Canada and the US are managing to compromise to bring swift relief. Not without some hiccups, but a strange truce has been forged, even to the point of praise and acknowledgement being given from both sides to the other. (If you watch full length interview clips and not cuts from biased media sources who don’t want us to return to humanity, you’ll find this to be true) It’s refreshing to the soul like fresh water in a desert. If we can hang on to it moving forward, it could be the cultural shift we’ve been praying for – a bridging of the gap.
I’m sure there will be those who refuse this move, and cling even more fiercely to their prejudices. But I think the vast majority will heed this crisis as a lesson, and lose their appetite for slander and eternally meaningless agendas. We are all human. We want our loved ones to prosper and to see solutions on the earth, and we need each other. It is possible to find solutions we can agree on – when we get our priorities straight. It doesn’t mean we have no differences of opinion, but it does mean our opinions become less important than love.
Jesus defined love as laying your life down for your friends. Today we have millions upon millions of people giving up their personal freedoms in order to prevent neighbours and strangers from contracting a virus there is no cure for. If you’re young and healthy, you’re learning to suffer for the sake of another. Parents are caring for their children, children are scolding their parents to stay safe.
On top of this, while helping us to connect in the midst of isolation, technology has lost some of its appeal. We’re learning that nothing replaces face to face communication. A message doesn’t replace a hug, a skype doesn’t replace a coffee date. Push-ups and a youtube pilates routine don’t replace heading to your local gym with all its familiar faces. We are human, and we can’t be anything but.
This crisis will end, faster than many expect. My hope and prayer is that on the other side we will cling to renewed value for relationships. I pray we will remember how to suffer for another’s benefit, and work in collaboration with people who disagree with us. I pray we will remember that our jobs and bank accounts are no security at all, that we are all mortal, can’t predict the future, and can’t hang on to these things forever. In eternity only faith, hope and love will remain. Let’s embrace them now.
dustymaytaylor.com 