No seed germinates without first dying. And so, Jesus died on the Cross at the Calvary to free the world.
This is a special Good Friday and Easter. The world is currently besieged by the deadly coronavirus. Suddenly we all have time to be indoors. To know one another better. To make our houses homes. To pray together. To have special relationships with God at a family level. The #covid19 is a reset button to remind all of us the true meaning of life – family is where it all starts.
For a long time, many people have become too pre-occupied with sports, entertainment, frequent travels, and personal care at the expense of a time to think, reflect and pray. Suddenly, we find ourselves with too much time and at home. No live football and other competitive sports to pre-occupy us. No travel itineraries. No drinking in bars. Nothing. We are all worried about life. Uncertain about what tomorrow brings. After all, there is life without all these new things man has created.
We must learn from this pandemic.
Our scientific discoveries have limits. The world can be on lockdown for more than two weeks without any solution. This means we can all be vulnerable. We are vulnerable. The virus has brought all the global superpowers alike down on our knees.
Since God gave us the power of reason, man shall soon find a solution to this pandemic and life shall resume as normal. But this has been a wake-up call – science has limits.
And religion is the insurance we need.
Science vs religion
There is a general bias that we [people] who believe in the existence
of God have some form of mental inadequacies. There are several scientific explanations and reasons to explain away the existence of God. When you speak to yourself about something several times, you end up believing it to be true. The fact that over 90% of all noble prize winners are religious, tells you something. How come folks who have gone deep into scientific discoveries and research still believe in God?
As a human being, each one of you has a choice. Mine is to believe what my parents and great, great grandparents passed on to me. That there is God with powers over the world.
We know the science and scientific discoveries continue to build on previous discoveries and writings. Future generations will live in a far better world than ours. To leave them a better world, we must research, discover and write down our findings so that they have somewhere to start from to make the world even a better place to live.
Religion, on the other hand, remains unchanged over the years. The story of creation in the Bible has been like that since it was first written. So, it has been the story of Jesus Christ. As we continue to improve on our scientific discoveries, the religious texts have remained unchanged.
Our progress in science tends to excite us more than religious texts and practices. And so, people are taking the easy way out – no religion.
Lest we forget, no believing in God existed even before the death of Jesus Christ at the Calvary. That is why he was betrayed, punished and crucified.
Today, we remember what Jesus had to endure to free all of us. He died for our sins. God gave us to have total control over the world. However, in the process, we may cause big problems in terms of climate change, global pandemics like the coronavirus, wars, and destruction, etc. It is a form of accountability by man. When you are given rights and responsibilities, you must be held accountable. When you are put in charge, you must be held accountable.
Man rules over everything in the world because he hasthe power of thought.
Other animals and birds, for example, lack this power of thinking.
Take a case of a bird’s nest. Birds have been building their nests the same way for so many years. How come to date, the way the bird’s nest is built does not change? It is because birds do not deliberately think about how to improve their lives. They lack the power of reason. Because God gave such power of reasoning and thinking to man.
Happy Good Friday
Every year, we witness the re-enactment of Jesus’ crucifixion all over the world. Not this year. This is your opportunity to re-enact the crucifixion in your home with your family. Remember the words of Jesus in Mathew 27:46 while about to die on the cross to save us all: ‘My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?’, and before his [Jesus’s] death he cried, ‘Father, into your hands I commend my spirit!’ Luke 23:46.
These are the same words each one of us is crying out today in the face of the #coronavirus pandemic: “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” And for our brothers and sisters are unfortunate to make it, they are making the silent prayer, “Father, into your hands I commend my spirit!” Everything has got limits.
Now more than before, take a deep reflection about your purpose. Do something to serve. To help your neighbor. To do good. To share the small resources. Let us take time and use this Easter Holiday to pray to God to give us the wisdom to find a vaccine to this pandemic. To save us from this monster so that our lives can resumeback to normalcy.
My God, my God, do not forsake the world.
Copyright Mustapha B Mugisa, 2020. All rights reserved.
