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At the time of this writing (March 20, 2020), groceries stores are running or have ran out of toilet paper, hand sanitizer, hand soap and the laundry list of needs apparently required when faced with the coronavirus.

We need to be keeping each other in prayer and be praying for protection, healing, recovery and treatment. While it seems the abundance of the world is on high alert, I have also seen those who are simply riding things out. One side saying the other is overreacting, the other side saying the other is being careless.

What I find most interesting is how people are handling this current pandemic. Then there are some who are prepared at all times knowing something like this could happen at any time. The unprepared, the doubtful and the prepared.

It gives me a glimpse of what it may look like at the end of days. It gives me an idea of what people will be like when faced with their own mortality or with the sudden appearance of Christ.

What I see is they are either prepared or they are not. They are either preparing or they are not. Just like we are seeing right now, I would imagine some will sit back and ride it out. They will be assured, confident, and prepared. Then again, there will be those who are running around last minute trying to figure out how to handle their final affairs, totally unprepared. And then there will be those doubtful who really don’t care one way or the other.

I believe for the Christian who is in Christ and following Christ there comes an assurance that they will be alright. Whether they clutch their chest, get a cancer diagnosis, or Jesus suddenly appears on their doorstep, they may be startled, fearful or “flinch”, but in the end, they are prepared. They are confident in what will happen next.

Conversely, I would imagine there are those who will face that sudden pain, that unexpected diagnosis, or that fateful arrival of Christ, and they will be running around to the “shelves” trying to “stock up” at the last minute.

If this is what the prepared, the unprepared and the doubtful look like during a virus, I could only imagine what these individuals look like in their day-to-day life.

In Matthew 24:35-36 Jesus said the following: “Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away. But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.” I hope you are not doubtful that this will come to pass.

I hope you are not unprepared for the day Christ calls you home. It is my hope that you accept or have accepted Christ as Savior and that you are, in fact, prepared. And there is no quarantine from eternity. It’s waiting for all of us.

REV. BARRY VASSAR is pastor at Fitzgerald Memorial Baptist. He can be reached at fitzgeraldmemorial@gmail.com.