Just “NOW” we're all alike!

Norsk versjon

Sometimes we say that life is ‘put on hold'. Although I have to admit that twice before in my life I have had experiences that made me think that ‘life has been put on hold’, it was not true, - I lived, and I lived intensely. Both times 'ordinary life' was put on hold for approximately three months. The first time was after a car accident in 1978; the second time was after a meeting with a suicide-bomber in 2016.

In these two instances, the situation primarily affected my family and myself - even though the event in 2016 caught the world's attention for a few short minutes.

When I now experience the state of emergency that the whole world is in - it is very similar to the two experiences I have gone through before. Actually, there are several good side effects of such a situation:

All my life I have felt that the most precious thing to me is my time. I am very aware that the only time I really have the moment is the moment. It doesn’t matter if it is a private situation or if it effects the whole world, the only thing we know is the present - it is "NOW", this very moment. It is very important to be reminded about this from time to time, both for myself and for every human being in the world.

For my part, all that was planned for the next three months is either already canceled or put on hold. This releases a tremendous resource in all the “NOWs” that may come, all the “NOWs” that are no longer filled with appointments or travels. From past experiences, I know that they can be used to build relationships with people that I come into contact with because of the situation. A huge resource of ‘spare moments’ are at my disposal, and I want to live in Him who is “the eternal ‘I am’” –“the eternal NOW” in meeting with people – most likely via social media or telephone as the physical meetings for a period should need to be limited because of the virus.

However, yesterday I had an opportunity for a good spiritual talk with one of our cleaners in the office. I started with the question:
- “How are you in this situation?”
- “Now we're all alike!” she answered,
“A virus or a nuclear bomb does not distinguish between a president or a homeless person!”
- it was a very good conversation. Just “NOW” we’re all alike. That is the constant situation before God. For Him we are all equal.

In the most commonly used Bible-reading-plan in Norwegian, we read the following verse this morning:

Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.2 Corinthians 6:2

There is no exception to this truth, not even for a world that is in an exceptional situation. That's why I live intensely!