Finding Hope and Love; Not Fear through the Coronavirus
There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.
1 John [4:18]
A friend of mine said they were tired of listening to all the news about the Coronavirus, it was making him fearful. When I probed a little deeper to find out why; I discovered that during the day it was all he watched on television. Because he was now working at home; he had left the television on to get the latest news.
He had become obsessed with knowing everything he could about the virus. Over and over all day he heard terrible stories of despair. Leaving him on Friday’s exhausted and fearful. Well, we all know the cure for this, stop watching the news all day. Easy to say, but hard to do. If you went to any mental health professional they would give you this advice, limit your watching the news to thirty minutes a day and try to watch at the same time each day.
Now beyond the obvious mental health benefit from this suggestion, it will also let other positive things appear, that had previously been blocked by the obsessive binge watching. Especially the positive of life. And more importantly, the positive things of heroism and joy that are sprouting up throughout our country and the world. Things you won’t find on TV, but they exist.
For instance, consider that there are over one hundred companies hunting down a vaccine, therapies, and better testing to wipe out the effect of the Corona Virus. Heroic people working through the night; many who haven’t had a day off for weeks.
Motivated to help, these people are passionately pursuing a way out with intense fervor. Everyday people who have the tools and education, working for humankind. They don’t fear failure, they are on a mission to help.
Despite what the news is telling us that a cure is eighteen months away, they actually hope it will happen far earlier. This past week, a new therapy was discovered in Chicago that showed wonderful results in rapidly reversing the effect of the virus. Likewise, in Great Britain, the leading scientist on vaccines, Dr. Sarah Gilbert, has stated that she is eighty percent sure she will have a vaccine available by September.
Many of the drug companies are doing this as a non-profit effort.
Also, consider the health care workers, who on the front line of this great struggle. Many working and staying at hospitals because they can’t go home. They stay day after day, because this what they trained to do, and this is the work they have to do.
In Great Britain, they asked for volunteers to help the vulnerable, over a quarter of a million people immediately signed up.
In Yorkshire, a ninety-nine-year-old army veteran is walking ten laps a day to raise money to fight the virus. His goal was to raise one thousand pounds, instead, his efforts have gone viral and he has actually raised the equivalent of twenty-three million dollars.
John Krasinski, you know him as Jim from the office, has started a YouTube channel that is called Some Good News. His channel uplifts viewers and gives hope. Today, John has close to two million people viewing his channel. If you want to be uplifted; click this link and off you go to hear stories of human kindness; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F5pgG1M_h_U.
In Rio De Janeiro, the famed Christ the Redeemer statue that stands above the city is illuminated with a health worker uniform and has thank you inscribed on the bottom.
On Easter morning New York City, the hardest hit by the Coronavirus, a rainbow appeared across the full horizon.
In Punjab, India, for the first time in decades, the local residents could see the Himalayas. Pollution is down by forty-four percent allowing these great mountains to be seen.
In hospitals around the world, doctors who work with facemasks, have pictures of themselves smiling on their uniforms.
Famous chefs around the globe are giving free cooking lessons on television and YouTube.
Elton John created and delivered a free concert shown from his living room. You can watch via this link; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ptAm_JDZQQ
And there are so many more stories of people trying to help. Just type into Google, Corona Virus good news stories; and you will spend hours reading them all.
These are stories driven by love and not fear. Compassion from the hearts of people trying to give us hope. Not stories of panic, but stories making the world a better place. Stories that drown out the debilitating effect of fear.
In 1st John, John tells us that perfect love drives out fear. That is what is driving the ninety-nine-year-old army veteran to walk every day in his garden. And the world has seen that love, instead of being driven by fear.
The health care workers around the world are more concerned with compassion than fear. They know what they have to do, and they do it. A tremendous walk across the bridge of fear to that of compassionate love. This is what heroism is.
Christ himself on Good Friday walked with his cross not fearful, but out of love for humankind. And that’s the point of John’s simple message. We all have trials in life and for some, there will be many more than they deserve. He exhorts us to not let fear drain us. Instead, let love lift us.
So my friend now loves John Krasinski’s, Some Good News channel on YouTube. The obsessive addiction of needing to hear the national news has been replaced by the uplifting events of humankind trying to help.
Choose today to seek love and not be put in a corner by fear. And sure there is plenty to be fearful of, but far more to admire and love.
Cross the bridge of fear and find love.
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Blessings, until next time,
Bruce L. Hartman
