I had my first Corona in college.  Grant, my good friend, introduced me to the mixture of Corona and lime.  For years it was an enjoyable beverage.  Maybe it was because it was from Mexico and seemed different.   Maybe it was because of how much I enjoy the flavor of lime (also why I’m a 7-Up guy over Sprite).  I don’t enjoy Corona as much as I used to but it has always held memories of fun times.

Now comes the virus.  There is nothing fun about COVID-19, also called the novel coronavirus.  Nothing fun at all.  It is doing a lot of damage.  Sickness.  Death.  Fear.  Panic.  The economy is taking a hit and there will be many not affected directly by the illness that comes with the disease who are still hurt significantly whether it be family and friends or loss of a job or business.

The coronavirus is changing the world in many ways.  It is highlighting the global nature of the world we live in.  For better or worse, we are all interconnected in many ways.  It is changing the way we do work and school and church and even going to the grocery store.  Who knows how life will look when this is past us, if and when it is.

One challenge I see in the U.S. is in our bootstrapping, self-sufficient oriented ways.  We are ten feet tall and bulletproof.  We have whipped most everyone’s butts and we will whip this invisible foe too.   We may take a hit but we are resilient and we will figure out a way to overcome this season.  This mindset has served us well in so many ways and, yet, also sets us up for greater risk and danger.

How do we control an virus like we control people?  We can’t round it up and incarcerate it.  We can’t send drones to kill it with the same anonymity it is killing so many.  We can’t wear it down with sanctions.  For the most part, it appears the greatest tool to overcome it is hiding from it and that is counterintuitive to all we have done and believe in.  Will we submit to the advice of doctors?

Submission is not our way.  Many say we are a Christian nation, a teaching that espouses submission as part of the path to eternal life but when called to submit, it’s not a posture we take easily.  I grew up in a very conservative, fundamental religious tradition and submission was not taught as a practice.  Sure, “don’t sin” was a repeated mantra but it was taught more to avoid the things that are bad for us than submission which is a proactive approach to following Christ.

So, how do I balance the proactive approach towards self-reliance and action and the proactive approach to submission?  Well, when I know that answer I will write the book and make millions.  I know part of the answer is in the problem and what is really required to address the specific problem.  Submission to God is always a part of the answer while remembering he told the Israelites to get up and move across the Red Sea and told all of us to go into all the world.  Our submission is in the listening and acting on God’s call to each of us.

We are not called to be blobs, to do nothing, to hide and live in fear while we are called to submit.  I have to see submission as an action, as a proactive choice to overcome a battle I am not equipped to fight on my own.  Whether it is submission to God to overcome my spiritual battles or to doctors to overcome physical battles, submission is action and is a tool to combat many bad things.

Today I will work on submission in my mind, my heart, and my life.

Grace and peace.

I am a work in progress.  My thoughts are not offered as the absolute correct belief but a belief or challenge or concept that is in progress with me.  What I believed in my 20’s or even 2 years ago isn’t necessarily what I believe now.  Feel free to challenge me or agree with me or disagree completely with me.  I accept that we are all works in progress and we can learn from each other.  In all of this, I hope this day brings you peace.