Is the Coronavirus Vaccine Our Savior?

The whole world is on standby. We can’t see family or friends or celebrate. Our whole nation and most of the world sits waiting for something to come and save us from this oppressive pandemic and bring us back to normal. Our media spotlights one potential vaccine after another as we all cross our fingers wishing, hoping, praying, and wondering: will this coronavirus vaccine be our savior? What can we learn from this insane season? How should this season point us to Jesus?

What If We Forgot?

Let’s imagine years and decades pass and still we have no vaccine. Everyone is still socially distancing. It’s been so long that we forgot what life was like before the virus. Our fractured society becomes our new normal. So much so that we stop looking for a vaccine and forget that our whole society is oppressed by the circumstance.

Face masks become the norm. Perhaps clothing designers start producing hats with built-in masks or shirts with masks attached. We start designing public buildings in such a way that everyone can stand 6 feet apart.

We forget so much so that don’t even see the problem anymore. Older men and women might tell stories of what life was like before 2020, but most of the younger generation doesn’t really believe them.

I’d argue this is already the case with our society.

Not with the coronavirus, but with sin.

We Need a Savior

Just like in this “what if” scenario, we’ve forgotten that we are oppressed by sin. We forget that hospitals, morgues, and graveyards should’ve never existed. We no longer bat an eye when we see vaults inside banks or guns used by military or police. It’s normal for stores to record us and for every window and door in our houses to have locks just in case someone might steal something.

Yet all of this is a result of our oppression that has continued on for so long we now consider it normal. We forget that life once was better. And we oftentimes can’t even imagine what it all must’ve been like before. Many of us don’t believe the Bible when it says things haven’t always been this way.

We forget that hospitals, morgues, and graveyards should’ve never existed. We no longer bat an eye when we see vaults inside banks or guns used by military or police.

At the beginning of human history, we had no worries. We never worried about what others might think of us because we knew they only thought good things about us. We never had to protect ourselves from others or keep a wary eye out for someone who might try to jump us.

Everyone loved one another and looked out for each other.

Then one day, we sinned and separated ourselves from God. When we separated ourselves from God, we brought sin into our world. Ever since then, we’ve labored and toiled under the oppression of sin. We fight against our own desires to do the right thing. We even fight our own thoughts as they often tell us terrible things about ourselves and others.

Because of sin, we mask our bodies. Whether it be to protect ourselves or protect others. We also mask our bodies to hide them from others out of shame and protect them from the sun and weather. But, if there were no sin, there’d be no reason to mask our bodies.

We may not realize it now, but we still groan under the burden of sin. We long for our savior to set everything back to normal.

Is the Coronavirus Vaccine Our Savior?

Our society is groaning for the vaccine so we can all return to normal. We are desperate for like it’s our savior. Not a day goes by that we don’t feel the effects of this pandemic. We feel the hardship, the pain of isolation, and the fear of what could come next.

If only we had a vaccine.

But, this virus is only a symptom to the problem. If we had no sin, we’d have no viruses.

It’s true that we recognize our need for a vaccine more than we recognize our need for something to save us from our sins. But we need to use this pandemic to recognize the true pandemic of sin.

Millions of people die from sin every year and we don’t flinch a muscle. Sin isolates billions of people. It tears people away from their own families. It forces their businesses to close, and costs families precious resources that they desperately need to buy food.

And the crazy thing is that we have the vaccine. If you’ve asked Jesus to forgive you of your sins and take your punishment for you, then you hold the vaccine to this pandemic. But, unlike the coronavirus, everyone is infected, and the death rate is 100% for those who don’t get the vaccine.

Your friend, neighbor, and family member are currently dying and will inevitably die, if you don’t share the vaccine with them.

If you long for the day when this social distancing stuff is over, then you are in a unique spot to feel exactly what is running deep in the subconscious of the unbeliever. Except take that longing, isolation, frustration, and pain and multiply it exponentially. People need us. Will you play your part?

Let’s not forget this pain or urgency and step out to share our vaccine.

Let’s do the uncomfortable and play our part to save lives. This is living wilder.

 

If you need more encouragement to step out in faith, check out my post Dear Soldier, Do You Remember?

If you don’t know how to share your faith, please reach out to me personally so I can help. You can do so here: Contact Me