As our world backstrokes at the edge of the pandemic whirlpool, we Christ-followers ought rejoice in the security of an omnipotent Father, rescuing Son, and very present Spirit. Nothing touches us which has not first passed through the loving councils of this Trinity.
Metrics for a virus include the mortality rate and the reproduction number (how many additional people each patient infects).
The current coronavirus seems to have a mortality rate of about 2% and a reproduction number of 2-3. Reproduction is greatly impacted by the presence or absence of infectious "super-spreaders" and community spread.
A much older virus, sin, has a dual-acting pathway. Spiritual mortality is immediate, while the onset of physical mortality varies by lifespan. But, whether spiritual or physical, sin's mortality rate is 100%. Sin's reproduction number is immaterial; the virus causes genetic change, passed from Adam, and "in Adam all die" (1 Corinthians 15:22). We are each irreparably infected; we are dead men walking.
But, praise be to God, the Gospel is a holy virus.
More robust than either the coronavirus or sin, the Gospel's mortality rate could perhaps be expressed as negative 100% -- it cures everyone it infects. The mechanism of this cure is both novel and staggering - spiritually it operates through instantaneous heart replacement, and physically through the supermedical phenomenon of post-death resurrection. In both of these ways, it wins by redefining what it means to live. The Gospel is truly "the power of God for salvation to all who believe" (Romans 1:16).
And its reproduction number? This is where you and I come in. Among healthy Christians, the reproduction number has variously been reported as 30, 60, or 100 (Matthew 13:8). These super-spreaders replicate repeatedly (2 Timothy 2:2), and the process of community spread is powerfully infective (Acts 5:14) as a watching world sees how we love.
Right now, perhaps for a very brief moment, the coronavirus is weakening the shaky props under this world's deception - including materialism, the market, health, pleasure, and endless distraction. So, while we cover our coughs and wash our hands, let us exhibit the sure hope that we have in Christ. And let us strive, in the Spirit, to be Gospel super-spreaders.
.gif){kind=small}
