The pandemic over the past year and half has affected us all in many areas of our lives.  Quarantines, social distancing, and face masks became a new and consistent part of daily living that we all had to deal with.

But as much of an inconvenience as those are, I believe the greatest challenge is, and still may be, fear.  Lack of information and then conflicting information about the virus as the pandemic wore on just added to the fear and confusion. Fear of the unknown, fear of getting sick, fear of possibly dying, and even fear of spreading the disease to someone else unknowingly were common concerns.

And our entire lifestyles changed because of it.  We stopped doing things we normally do and stopped seeing people we normally see.

But at some point, fear has to be overcome by something stronger—love. 1 John 4:18 tells us that

“There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear.”

When God commanded us to love one another, there were no exceptions to that. We quarantined at first in love to protect each other, but that cannot be the new norm.  We cannot truly love one another as Christ loved us unless we are together. So, we cannot let fear keep us apart.

In Mark 1, Jesus is “moved with compassion” toward a leper that had come to him for healing, and in response, HE TOUCHED THE LEPER to heal him. Jesus did not let fear of a disease stop Him from showing love, and we shouldn’t either.

Love never fails, not even in a pandemic.