“For my iniquities have gone over my head;
like a heavy burden, they are too heavy for me.”
– Psalm 38:4

Indeed! If we truly understood the enormity of all that we’ve done wrong in our lives – the hurtful actions, hateful words, vile thoughts, selfishness, cruelty, callousness, self-centeredness, obliviousness, cowardice – we would agree with the psalmist that it is too heavy for us to bear. Our mountain of sinful thoughts, words, actions, silence, and inaction is piled up far above our head. It is far, far too much for us to carry through life ourselves, not to mention the consequences in death.

Fortunately, we don’t have to carry this burden! In His mercy, love, and grace, God sent His eternal Son Jesus to bear these things for us! Jesus Christ never did any of these sinful things, but despite His eternal, sinless, perfection He chose to sacrifice Himself on a cross to pay the penalty for our sins. 2 Corinthians 5:21 says, “For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” At the cross, Christ bore all the weight of our sin, so we wouldn’t have to. By His death and glorious resurrection, Jesus erases our debt of sin when we put our faith in Him.

Because of Christ’s sacrifice and God’s grace, we know, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” (1 John 1:9). You don’t need to carry around the weight of the sinful past or shameful present – turn to Christ in faith and ask God’s forgiveness in sorrow and you will always be forgiven and free.

“Why do you see the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye?” – Luke 6:41

We are naturally quick to blame others for our interpersonal disputes, conflicts, relational breakdowns, and grudges. In our mind we clearly see everything that’s wrong with them. We repeatedly rehearse their past words and actions which serves to deepen our anger, hurt, and bitterness. Our thoughts spiral ever more negatively and we feel ever more self-righteous and justified in harboring hatred.

This is NOT how Jesus commands His people to think about their relational problems! It’s certainly possible that some broken relationships are entirely the other person’s fault (as may be true in cases of criminal behavior, abuse, and addiction). However, in the vast majority of cases, if we were truly honest with ourselves, we would see that we too bear a certain responsibility for the mess. Whether it’s 1%, 10%, 50%, or 90% percent our fault, in most cases, our words, actions, inactions, or lack of words have contributed to making that broken relationship what it is.

Relational healing begins by recognizing our own sinful actions and responses, asking God’s forgiveness, and then asking the other person’s forgiveness. That opens the door for resolution – either by freeing them to confess their own contributions or by preparing you before God to honestly point out their sinful conduct.

The key point is that as Christians, we’re always called to make the first move. We’re called to get honest with ourselves, be honest with God, then be honest with the other person. It’s incredibly hard. It hurts our pride terribly. It embarrasses us. It makes us vulnerable. But we can do it, because when it came to our rebellion against God, our conflict with Him, He made the first move even though none of it was His fault. To bring reconciliation with Him, God sacrificed His Son on the cross. His eternal Son became vulnerable, was abused and humiliated, was tortured and killed, and rose from the dead. Because He did, we can swallow our pride and sense of injustice and begin to make peace where there is currently only conflict.

For most of us, the world has slowed down radically and unexpectedly. Why not use this time when we’re forced to reassess our priorities and examine our lives to evaluate our broken relationships and begin a journey of peacemaking and reconciliation through Jesus Christ?

“And he lifted up his eyes on his disciples, and said:
‘Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God.
Blessed are you who are hungry now, for you shall be satisfied.
Blessed are you who weep now, for you shall laugh.
Blessed are you when people hate you and when they exclude you and revile you and spurn your name as evil, on account of the Son of Man!’”
– Luke 6:20-22

A timely reminder from Jesus that if He is your Lord and Savior, then your real treasure, ultimate satisfaction, and unending joy and delight aren’t found here in the things of this brief earthly life but in your eternal life that began when you first put your faith in Christ and will never, ever end.

Regardless of whether you are comfortable or lacking right now, happy or sad, healthy or sick, popular or hated, at peace or afraid of what the next news report will bring, what surrounds you now will one day end. What won’t end is God’s love, care, and pleasure. What won’t end is God’s presence in your life. What won’t end is your eternal reward, your forever delight in His presence, and your comfort in Him. Earthly nations will end, political structures will come and go, plagues will pass, but God’s Kingdom will never end.

Know that if you follow Jesus, you are blessed, each and every day. You are a citizen of God’s Kingdom. You will be satisfied. You will laugh. You will enjoy the friendship and fellowship of God forever and ever.

“Take my instruction instead of silver,
and knowledge rather than choice gold,
for wisdom is better than jewels,
and all that you may desire cannot compare with her.”
– Proverbs 8:10-11

We have a unique opportunity at this time when many have been forced, involuntarily, to slow down the pace of life, stay home for extended periods of time, and temporarily quit chasing all the things we usually spend our lives and energy pursuing. We have the opportunity to stop slurping up endless amounts of infuriating information (from the internet, the news, social media) and genuinely seek wisdom.

Wisdom takes more time and effort to gain than information, because information is cheap and ever-present, while wisdom is rare and requires genuinely thoughtful engagement. For once in our frenetic lives, we have the chance to thoughtfully engage. TAKE THAT CHANCE!

Go deeper in your daily Bible reading. If you aren’t reading the Bible for yourself every day, start reading the Bible every day. Use an LRBC reading plan, or just start in Matthew and read a chapter every day. If you’re already reading, go deeper – spend more time thinking about what you read and how it applies to you. Meditate on it. Memorize a verse that really stands out to you.

Listen to great teaching and preaching online.

Join an online Bible study, or get help to start one of your own.

Turn off your social media feed and read actual books (or Kindle ebooks) by some of the great Christian writers of the past or present: Tim Keller, John Piper, A.W. Tozer, C.S. Lewis, Charles Spurgeon, Jonathan Edwards, John Wesley, John Bunyan, John Calvin, or Augustine, just to name a few.

Friends, our current situation is going to last awhile. Specifically, it’s going to last long enough to solidify whatever new habits we form in the days to come. Form the right habits – the habits that fill you with precious wisdom!

“But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins’—he said to the man who was paralyzed—‘I say to you, rise, pick up your bed and go home.’” – Luke 5:24

At a time when physical sickness, healing, and protection figure prominently in people’s thoughts, it’s important to realize that wasn’t Jesus’ top priority. Physical healing, wonderful as it is, can only benefit us for at most 70-100 years. That’s less than a drop in the bucket compared to eternity. And so Jesus worked physical healing to point us to His true purpose – spiritual healing.

Jesus came to reconcile mankind with our loving and holy God. He came “to seek and to save the lost”, forgiving sins, and giving us eternal life as an undeserved gift of God’s grace through faith in Him. The greatest work of Jesus isn’t found in remarkable miracles that touched some lives 2000 years ago, it is His sacrificial death on the cross and resurrection from the dead that made it possible for our sins to be forgiven and our relationship with God restored.

Our spiritual situation and that of our friends, relatives, and neighbors should be our highest priority during this pandemic. Like Jesus, we should lovingly care for the physical needs of those around us, tending to them lovingly, but as a means of pointing people to Jesus who heals their greater spiritual needs.