Covid Confinement
What a sudden change of circumstances! What a difficult transition. John the Baptist lived freely outdoors. Now he’s confined to four dark walls. He ate fresh natural food; now he faces prison fare. He preached to large crowds, but suddenly he’s isolated. His life purpose was to announce Messiah’s arrival. Instead, he languishes in Herod’s dungeon. In confinement, John struggles to keep perspective. The weeks drag on, no end in sight. John wonders where the Coming One is at work. Where is evidence of the Messiah’s bringing judgment against evil and ushering in the kingdom of God? John finally sends a message to Jesus: “Are you the Messiah we’ve been expecting, or should we keep looking for someone else?” (Luke 7:20 NLT) As usual, John is direct and to-the-point. I love how Jesus responds! There is food for thought for us who find ourselves confined—in large and small ways—by the Covid-19 pandemic. First, Jesus doesn’t dash to the rescue. There is no q