I remember where I was on 9/11/01.
As I worked in my office, a colleague walked in and told me a plane had hit the World Trade Center. My first reaction was a momentary feeling of sadness, and then I got back to working on Wednesday night’s student service as planned.
About a half hour later, he walked back in and said, “I think a plane just hit the Pentagon.”
It was then that I stood up, drove home, and turned on the television to watch as both towers fell in real time. After six hours of watching events unfold, I remember having to turn off the TV because of being so overwhelmed with the brokenness and destruction.
This was three years before Facebook, six years before the first iPhone, and three years before the next election.
I was in a staff meeting on 3/16/2020 when the reality of the COVID-19 pandemic hit me. Our governor had shut down schools the day before, NCAA March Madness was canceled, and our staff was sent home to work from there. Limitations were set on gatherings, and many services were canceled.
The terrorist attack led to an uncontrollable chain of events that resulted in nearly 10,000 deaths of civilians and future military personnel. The crisis brought us together as a nation, and it drove people to church to cry out to God.
The COVID-19 virus led to an uncontrollable chain of events that have resulted in over 200,000 U.S. deaths. The crisis divided and isolated us as a nation, and people flocked to science and fled the church.
We are fearful, frustrated, and polarized. The constant stream of social media and news has polarized and labeled us. We are just angry. Some are angry at people wearing a mask, while others are mad at the lack of masks being worn. Some are mad at protests in the streets, while others are mad at the deafening silence of some.
The reality is COVID-19 has not made us this way. It just exposed who we already were. Isolated. Vulnerable. Selfish. Mortal. We are a broken people in need of a Savior. It’s time to cry out to Him and let the world know who they can find Hope in.