October 15, 2014

Can Anything Good Come from Ebola?

I carry hand sanitizer on my purse. I use it frequently. If I shake hands with someone, punch in my debit card number, touch a door handle, gas pump, you name it ... and if a store is ever out of cart wipes, I find a way to get that thing clean before I put my hands on it.  If you said that I'm a paranoid OCD germ freak, I wouldn't even try to pretend otherwise. The good news is, I made serious progress a couple of weeks ago. We stayed at a hotel and I walked across the room and bathroom without shoes on. Can't say it didn't bother me, can't say I want to do it again, but I did it.  Baby steps.

So, in light of this recent Ebola outbreak that has even landed itself on US turf, my initial reaction has been concern...okay, more like worry, fear, a little bit of freaking out.... but after all, Ebola IS serious. And I think it's a concern to all of us to some degree, not just us germ freaks.

I hate the Ebola virus.  It ravages the lives of more than half of it's victims, and in just about a week's time, too. It's a horrible thing and I wonder, "Can anything good come from Ebola?"

I'm kind of a big picture, "what's the bottom line in all of this?" kind of thinker. So I want to know if this horrific outbreak is simply a "worst nightmare becomes reality" scenario or if anything redeeming can come from all of this.

I hate Ebola.  I don't want anyone to get this virus, and the thought of my family members getting it is absolutely terrifying...I don't even want to go there. I wish it never existed and I wish we could just wipe it out.  One of the reasons why it's so scary is that once you get it, there's such a high mortality rate.  Unless you're one of the fortunate ones who is able to survive it, getting Ebola is basically a death sentence.

Contracting Ebola means all those years we thought we had are likely gone.  All of a sudden those decades we thought we would have might have just turned into days.  That can be a really scary thought.  Especially if you were counting on the next several years to contemplate what you really believe about God and the afterlife.

But you don't have Ebola. And you do have a moment right now to contemplate life and the afterlife.

We live in a time where people are so turned off to anything that even hints at being some sort of a fear tactic.  In fact, it's possible that some Christians have even swung the opposite direction of not even talking about hell in order to avoid being perceived as a "fire and brimstone, scare you into being saved" kind.

I hope that anyone reading this doesn't think of me as that.  Ebola is scary.  Death can be scary.  Hell is very scary.  But all of those things are real.

And I'm scared of not living in reality.

I don't want to assume that everyone around me would be okay if they were to die today. I'm afraid for the souls of people who have a false sense of peace, thinking, "Well, who really knows for sure what happens when we die, so why not live it up now!" Or the belief that is so common today that says, "I think I'm a pretty good person. If there's a heaven, I think God will let me in."

Even with all my germ paranoia and ocd hand washing, deep down, I'm not afraid to die.  Do I want to die?  No.  Do I want to get Ebola?  Of course not.  Am I ready to leave this world when God says it's time?  Yes.

I wasn't always ready.  I didn't always know what I really believed.  I used to doubt God's existence and the Bible and all of that.  But God did something in me.  He helped me to see that Jesus was God and that He did die on that cross for my sins.  He opened my eyes to reality.  And I repented of my sins, accepted His forgiveness and His gift of getting to live forever in heaven with Him when I die.

I don't think there's anything good about the Ebola virus.  But if hearing about it in the news has caused you to think about how fragile our lives are and how important it is for us to be right with God before we leave this earth, then I believe that there is something good that could come from Ebola.

If anyone reading this has any questions about any of this, I would love to talk more with you. When God draws you to Himself, you can feel it inside. You can't seem to shake it.

-Rachel

No comments:

Post a Comment