Fear of the swine flu

The news this week has been dominated by news of the swine flu. It seems like whenever we turn on the news or go on the internet all they talk about is the flu. When I go to work, flu seems to be the hot topic of discussion. There are school districts in Texas that have closed down because of fears of the flu. All our athletic events and extra-curricular activities have been put on hold until further notice. There's even whispers about not having graduation ceremonies this year because public health officials want to discourage large gatherings of people.

The underpinnings of all these things is fear. More precisely, the fear of death. It's a big deal because people are afraid of death. Death is the number one fear for people. As a Christian watching all of this, I'm hit by the reality that many people fear death because they don't know what happens to them after they die. All they know is the present, the here and now. As Christians, we are assured a home when he leave this life, whether due to swine flu or any other reason.

In these uncertain times, it's natural for us to think of death. Living around an army base, we hear of death almost daily from Iraq and Afghanistan. When we look to scripture, we are assured by the psalmist that our lives are in God's hands. Psalm 139:16 says that "all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be." What an awesome promise. Before we were even born, God knew the number of days we would be on this earth. God's timing is perfect...even in death. If we're believers in Jesus, we can be assured that death is an open door to eternal life with Him.

That doesn't mean that we live carelessly, or do not hurt when a loved one dies. But it gives us the assurance that when we die, that will not be the end of us. We are comforted by the knowledge that God knows the number of days He has ordained for us. So take all the precautions against the swine flu. Wash your hands and keep proper hygiene. But we shouldn't be shackled by fear of death because Christ died to free us from that fear and opened the door to everlasting life for everyone that accepts Him as their Lord and Savior.