This past year has been full of positives and negatives. We started out with a booming economy, which gave us a positive outlook for the future. Our hopes were dashed when the pandemic hit and people started dying. Our outlook turned to negative when we were told to stay home and everything, with few exceptions, was closed for business.
It became a little confusing when they started testing people for the virus. If your test results came back positive, it was a negative, because it meant you are infected. If your test results were negative, it was positive, because you are not infected. Sometimes it was a mixed message, like when my son-in-law was tested and they said he was negative (positive). Come to find out he really was infected (negative), because if you test too soon after your infection, you can get a false negative. It’s confusing that you can’t really be positive that your positive results, which is a negative, or your negative test results, which are positive, really are. Got that?
As our country struggled to come to grips with the magnitude of the crisis, there were some positives. Our vast industrial base was redirected to quickly fill the need for hospital ventilators and Personal Protective Equipment (PPE). Operation Warp Speed, a public/private sector program to speed up development of treatments and vaccines, produced vaccines in record-setting time. In addition, Military personnel were able to help overwhelmed medical staffs and setup portable hospitals to handle the expected surge in patients and military hospital ships were sent to large cities to provide emergency capabilities. Much of those resources weren’t used, which seemed like a positive, but was a negative , because infected patients were sent back to nursing homes, where they fatally infected others in large numbers.
Even with daily doses of negative news, people became positive examples when they reached out to help their needy neighbors. Frontliners were hailed as heroes and supported by grateful citizens. Young and healthy people offered to shop and run errands for their older and vulnerable neighbors. Grocery stores withstood panic buying and frightened customers to remain open throughout the crisis. Many businesses that closed and lost their own income helped their hurting employees and the community. While most Churches closed, some (like ours) remained open to serve their hurting people. Even the ones that closed their doors moved their services outside and/or to the internet to continue ministering to their congregations.
One thing we can be absolutely positive about is that GOD loves us. In fact “God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life” (John 3:16 KJV). Yes, but JESUS had to die on the cross, which is a negative! Even that is a positive, because JESUS “who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross” (Heb 12:2 KJV) and that shows how precious our salvation is.
But what about all those Christians who died during the pandemic? Surely that’s a negative! JESUS took away the sting of death so “to live is Christ, and to die is gain” (Phil 1:21 NKJV). The only negative in death are those who rejected JESUS and died in their sin!
Wayne Lance (2021)