This Easter season, these often quoted words shine a timeless hope in these dark times: “For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son” (John 3:16). Unfortunately, the American church is far too often nationalistic in its lived theology, as though these eternal words apply first and foremost to our own country rather than to all of humanity — as if the Gospel instead selfishly proclaimed, “For God so loved the United States that he gave his only begotten son.”

But God’s love applies equally to all nations, enveloping the entire world in the promise of new life in all of its fullness. And the COVID-19 crisis shows how in an increasingly interconnected world, our lives, and wellbeing in our own nations are inextricably linked to the health of the rest of the world.

The world has surpassed 2 million COVID-19 cases. And tragically the actual number of cases is almost assuredly astronomically higher than this figure given the severe lack of testing and good data in many parts of the world.

Global crises, including this COVID-19 pandemic, have the power to either bring the world closer together in response to a common threat, or drive us further apart by bringing out our most nativist and provincial impulses. 

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