Those saying COVID-19 only affects the elderly, and those with underlying health issues are callous and inhumane, to say the least.
Those dead from the COVID-19 were grandparents, parents, brothers, sisters, uncles, aunts, nieces, nephews, cousins, children, friends, colleagues, and neighbors. Each of these was connected to others in multitudinous ways, therefore, their deaths affected them.
If my mother who has underlying issues contracts COVID-19 and dies (God forbid), my siblings and I will lose a mother. My nieces and nephews will lose a grandmother. My uncles and aunts will lose a sister. Jenny will lose a mother-in-law. My in-laws will lose a family member. Her friends will lose a friend. Finally, society will lose a productive member. Now repeat this 328,000 times–the number of deaths reported so far worldwide.
It is, therefore, not true that it’s only the elderly and those with underlying issues bearing the brunt. We all are being affected by this COVID-19. None could have said it better than Shakespeare in Macbeth
“Each new morn
New widows howl, new orphans cry, new sorrows
Strike heaven on the face, that it resounds
As if it felt with Scotland, and yelled out
Like syllable of dolor.”
Even if the mortality rate among kids is low, those kids, had parents, siblings, uncles, aunts, cousins, grandparents, friends, and neighbors.
It is why laying down our rights and freedoms by observing social distancing measures and lockdown is so important. We do so thinking about our grandparents, parents, brothers, sisters, uncles, aunts, nieces, nephews, cousins, children, friends, colleagues, neighbors, and society. Every life saved because we laid down our rights and freedoms, whether we were on the frontlines as medical professionals or just normal citizens who stayed home, wore a mask in public, washed our hands with soap, cleaned our homes, etc., was a life worth saving.
This is a picture of grace.
Grace? Yes, Jesus contracted the ultimate COVID-19, and all his friends and families practiced extreme social distancing measures. They stood afar and watched him suffer. His closest friend, Peter, denied him, and Judas, his treasurer betrayed him. He then bore God’s justice for us, died, and was buried in a borrowed tomb. Jesus experienced the ultimate COVID-19. Why?
He did it for us. For me and you. So now we look into what Jesus did for us and we lay down our lives for others.
That’s what grace looks like.
SCHULTER ETYANG 