23 April 2020
Covid-19 has caused unprecedented changes to how people live all over the world. The pandemic continues to ravage communities in dozens of countries. We are a long way from eradicating this plague.
At the same time, the end of the lockdown in Wuhan and a decline in new cases in Hong Kong and elsewhere offer some hope for an end to crisis conditions and a fresh start to post-coronavirus life. The following quote was posted on overheardlondon’s Instagram account: “When this is all over, I’m looking forward to taking things for granted again.”
While many remain in their homes and under restrictions, we look forward to the day when we will regain more freedom, even if the new normal looks different than before the outbreak. After many weeks of virtual church services, however well-produced they may be, won’t it be wonderful to meet together again as a church family! While we may still be weeks or months away from more normal life, we are hopeful of new beginnings.
New beginnings and a new life have also been on my mind, as I have recently become a father. Ewan is just starting out, and there is so much for my family to look forward to. Hope is a powerful thing.
No matter how exciting the hope of a new beginning here on earth may seem, we have much more to look forward to than being able to gather in groups larger than four or to see a new human life develop.
In Revelation 21: 1-5, John writes:
Then I saw “a new heaven and a new earth,” for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. ‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death’ or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.”
He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new!” Then he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.”
When God makes all things new, our new life with him will be much better than a fresh start after Covid-19. Perhaps we tend to look forward to lesser things because the new heaven and new earth seem distant to us, or because we do not know really what to expect. Nevertheless, dwelling with the Lord will be better than the satisfaction of all our other longings. Starting a new beginning after the current pandemic will feel like an appetizer of the new life we will have when the first heaven and first earth pass away.
As we look forward to being able to resume a more normal pattern of life, towards meeting together as a church family, let’s remember that this is not all that we look forward to. Let’s think of the new beginning after Covid-19 as a preview of the wonderful hope of life together with God and all believers who have ever lived.
He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new!”
Michael Brannagan
