The Reconciliation of All Things

COVID-19 has changed so much already, hasn't it? Nothing seemingly is back to normal (ok, well, maybe politics). One thing that I've noticed the world over has been something people wouldn't think of normally. However, over the last few months, I began seeing reports of wildlife walking through towns in Europe, of other animals expanding their ranges in North America and Asia. I saw before and after pictures of massive cities in Asia that used to be choked with pollution in which no single person had ever seen the blue sky. Rivers and waterways in Europe, such as in Venice, were so clear, people could see the algae growing, or fish returned to the rivers once desolate of fish. One thing COVID has done, for those who "have eyes to see, and ears to hear", is that "creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God. For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself...

Let's be honest--this COVID thing has been hard. I mean, it's basically changed how we do life, all over the world! My trips have been cancelled, or post-poned until next year... But when will things get back to normal? Or, should I say, "a new normal"... That's really what we're seeing. It's been interesting to see people's reactions to the COVID pandemic. There was an article I read early on this year when COVID was just starting to have a significant impact in the US. I thought the authors had quite the insight, comparing COVID to not just a blizzard, or a period of winter, but an Ice Age. They were saying that it would change A LOT. These were business people that wrote it, Christians doing business in the US and the world, but they were stating that it would change how we do church, how we do all kinds of gatherings, and that back THEN was the time for our churches and businesses and community groups to figure out how to adapt. You see, when we ha...