Faith, Hope and Love in times of a Global Pandemic

Apostle Paul concludes his famous chapter on Love with this verse, “and now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.” 1Cor 13:13. When everything around us is going topsy-turvy, when people are gripped with fear, anxiety and uncertainty, we are reminded that no matter whatever happens these three will remain. Everything else will pass, no doubt Covid 19 will eventually pass, it is not here stay, mankind has seen worse calamities over the centuries, but none of them have remained even though they looked ominous and destructive, it has all passed and human race has survived but these three things are permanent: faith, hope and love.

Faith in God who is sovereign over all human affairs, who is in control and He allows certain things to happen even if we don’t appreciate and understand it. But yet we firmly believe that He is working all things for good and He has a great plan in all this, is the foundation stone for us as we face calamities and storms of global proportions. With out this we are like a reed tossed in the wind, no where to anchor, gripped with all the fear and uncertainties, totally at the mercy of circumstances. Faith in God and His promises gives us the solid foundation to stand on and face the adversity head on. When Jesus comes to us and says “fear not, I am with you” it is not just a printed sentence in the Bible, that is the reality of knowing, that the living, unchanging, all-powerful God, who does miracles so great, is with us then whom shall we fear? Sickness, infection or even death for that matter; No! we have overcome all this and our faith in Him will determine our destiny.

Hope is the thing that keeps us alive, without hope it is impossible for a man to survive even for a minute. Hope for a better day, hope for a great future, hope for things to change, hope to be rewarded is all part of this. But the ‘hope that remains’ is our eternal hope, that one day we will be transformed, we will see Him face to face and we will spend eternity with Him. What we face here is temporary, the calamities, sickness, pain will all pass away, it is just a preparation, to what we are going to experience in eternity. Our stories do not end here, it is just the starting point of something more beautiful, something more marvelous that we are eagerly waiting for. It is not just us but it is the whole creation awaiting this glorious hope. Apostle Paul mentions about this in Romans 8:22-23; “we know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. ²³ Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the first fruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption to sonship, the redemption of our bodies.”

The last of the three that will remain is Love and Apostle Paul calls this the greatest of the three. No matter how much of faith and hope we have in God, if that doesn’t flow out as love for others around in tangible ways there is no use of having the other two, even if we have it in abundance. Love is the outward expression of faith and hope in God. In times of a global pandemic our natural instinct is to protect ourselves which is Good, we need to do it, but if we stop there, being only concerned of ourselves and our family, hoarding up things for ourselves, we have blocked the outward expression of faith and hope in God.

Loving others who are suffering around us, caring for others in need without compromising on maintaining the social distance and personal hygiene, praying for them, sending comforting messages, calling them and encouraging them are all tangible expressions of love. I came across this inspiring bit from one of the Corona virus affected areas where many affected families were in home quarantine. They were regularly supplied with essentials by one person in the village when everybody else refused to go anywhere near them, he would Whatsapp them and they would send the list of items needed and he will just quietly deliver it to their doorsteps and leave. That is love in action, we might not be able to stretch to that extent but we can talk, text and encourage over distance and let them know that we are there for them and we are praying for them. No matter what happens - Faith, Hope and Love will remain.