During times like this, a pandemic, we can react to the limits put upon us by the government—who are they to tell us what to do—and/or we can quickly turn to passages regarding being strong, not fearing and using them to justify our actions, actions that can put UNTOLD others at risk under the banner of being a strong Christian. 

I wonder what it means to walk in love at such a time as this, to choose to restrict our freedom, like Christ did, in order to love and protect those most vulnerable to the coronavirus—to practice for a time social distancing out of love. The frightening truth is that since there is little or no testing no one can really know if they have the coronavirus or not. 

What if it is the fear of missing out that is driving us to gather together. What might it look like to error on the side of embracing love limiting liberty and give up some things if it has a chance of slowing the spread of the coronavirus down—a demonstration of self-sacrificing love for the sake of others. 

There was a little country called Italy who new about the coronavirus and said let's live as we have always lived—it has not gone well for them. Let us choose love and ask ourselves what might be the loving thing to do. 

I share this because this was the question that helped me to move forward into some making some difficult and possibly unpopular decisions re: not traveling to an event I was presenting at and not meeting face to face at school with my students and others for spiritual direction. 

I encourage you to ask the same question; given what we know and don't know what might be the loving response to what is currently taking place in your county, state, country and world. 

And they shall know we are Christian by our love—a love embodied by Jesus. Please be careful and prayerful asking God to give you wisdom regarding how do we demonstrate the love of God at such a time as this.

Postscript: Might I be wrong—YES. Could this be a HUGE over-reaction—POSSIBLY. Might people make fun of me—wouldn't be the first time. But my motivation is love, love for the sake of others and I believe God is honored by that and who knows I may actually save a life or two, spare a family some angst as they will not need to be quarantined because our paths did not cross.