Rolling Bandages

Coronavirus has all of us scrambling for masks and sanitizer to evade an evil we can't even see. But before delving into corona's effects on society, allow me a spiritual rabbit trail.

In a similar, albeit spiritual, sense, the prophet Jeremiah described the futility of our efforts to cleanse ourselves of a far more deadly (and often invisible) pathogen - sin.

To simplify this intense theological subject, let's consider the following scenario, cleverly presented at a church picnic by a guy with whom I used to worship. He used soda in his demonstration, but I'm tweaking his metaphor just a bit.

Break out the finest wine with the best vintage you can find. Uncork it, then spit into the bottle while your guests stand around watching. Will anyone want to drink it?

Of course not. It became defiled and corrupted the minute the first trickle of your saliva entered the bottle (even if you just had your teeth cleaned). This is how God sees us. The first time we sinned, we took ourselves out of the running for heaven.* We may "clean up nice" on the outside, but "the heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked" (Jeremiah 17:9). God says, "'For though you wash yourself with lye, and use much soap, yet your iniquity is marked before Me" (Jeremiah 2:22).

Jesus's death on the cross was the only way to get us out of the mess created by our sinfulness. He was the perfect, ultimate sacrifice. His death paid for our sins once and for all - but we must place our faith in Him to have that payment applied to our account.

Let's bring our minds back to COVID-19 now. Herculean efforts of researchers and first responders notwithstanding, we will all die eventually. No one gets to stay permanently on this planet.

If we're relying on the fact that we are "good people," how can we be sure we're "good enough" for God to let us into heaven? How many good works does it take to tip the scales in our favor to be sure we make the cut?

Most of us think of ourselves as being fair. If the Bible is true (and there's lots of geographical, historical and archaeological evidence to prove that it is), we must accept its assertion that the God of the Bible is fair. Part of His fairness involves allowing people to choose their eternal destiny, as opposed to forcing them to accept His gift of salvation.

I would ask my reader, have YOU chosen salvation?

Many may be wondering where all this is going. Scary news - I'm not sure myself! I only know these are some of the truths I recently shared in a phone conversation with a dear friend.

Being housebound due to the pandemic, I feel a certain responsibility to tend the home front, in much the same way our predecessors did while dealing with strange and frightening times. The current situation brings to mind past wars and the Great Depression, when everyone did what they were capable of doing, from wherever they found themselves. With this in mind, I've been contacting lots of folks, checking on their well-being and trying to assist from a distance.

I'm not unique. Many are doing likewise, trying to "roll bandages," as it were, during this unsettling time.

The conversation to which I alluded previously was one vital way God showed me to "roll bandages." I had this person on the phone. A chance presented itself to share the gospel. I had nothing pressing to do, no prior commitments, no work schedule dictating my time. I snatched up the opportunity with both hands, and did what I could with it.

I don't think it's a stretch to characterize battling for souls as the ultimate form of bandage rolling. Medical interventions can and do save lives, but in an important sense, they only delay the inevitable. Spiritual interventions can affect a person's eternal destiny.

One important caveat. No one can roll bandages 24/7. Even the most dedicated professionals have to sleep sometime. All our routines have been disrupted and, as a society, we're still in the process of rolling out new ones to try to impose order on the chaos COVID-19 has brought us. It's necessary to give ourselves breathing room (social distance?) to navigate the new normal.

In short, we need to strike a balance between aiding our beleaguered nation's efforts to stem the results of a devastating virus, while still finding a semblance of normality in everyday life. That said, I would encourage each of us to consider...

"What am I doing to roll bandages at this time?"

*with appreciation to Gabe Forest for this compelling analogy

For more like this, check out: Rolling Bandages