“I think this might be my last Sunday, so I wanted to be sure to be in church.” That’s what Virginia Johnson told me a few different Sundays during the last year of her life. She had been part of our congregation for many years. Her husband, Howard, had gone to be with the Lord not long before. Virginia had suffered from Parkinson’s for many years. Her body was weak. It wasn’t easy for her to make it to church, even with help. Her spirit was still strong, however, as was her desire to worship the Lord on her last Sunday on earth.

I’d say hi to Virginia before the service began. Her voice had gotten very soft, so you had to get close to hear her. Then she’d tell me she was glad she was able to be in church because she expected it was going to be her last Sunday. She wasn’t saying it with a sense of fear. Rather, her peace and her faith spoke loudly in her soft words.

Certainly not everybody would be at peace if they thought it was going to be their last week on earth. That has been made clear during this battle with the coronavirus. Many people are filled with fear and panic as they contemplate the possibility they might get a virus that could kill them. Actually a very small percentage of people die from the virus, but 100 percent of us will die from something, unless Jesus returns first. The Bible says we are “destined to die once, and after that to face judgment” (Hebrews 9:27).

God will most likely give wisdom to medical researchers who will discover a vaccine and treatment for the virus. But there will be other things that will cause our bodies to stop working. Modern medicine can’t stop every virus and it can’t heal every disease. Jesus alone has the answer. “For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive” (I Corinthians 15:22).

Jesus defeated death and rose to life again. It was her faith in the crucified and risen Lord Jesus that enabled Virginia to face, without fear, the reality that it might be her last Sunday. Christ took the punishment and judgment for our sins upon Himself when He died on the cross, and now He offers peace. “… the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed” (Isaiah 53:5).

Knowing we may face the Lord soon doesn’t scare us when we know Him as our Savior. Instead it inspires us to make good use of each day we are given. Virginia wasn’t going to spend her last Sunday on earth trembling in fear. She wanted to spend it worshipping the Lord, declaring His praises, hearing His Word and being with God’s people.

Jesus took the punishment of the cross so that we can be at peace with God and at peace about what is going to happen when we die. The Lord, who has conquered death, will watch over our lives, both now and for all eternity.

The evangelist Dwight Moody said, “Some day you will read in the papers that D. L. Moody … is dead. Don’t you believe a word of it! At that moment I will be more alive than I am now.”

I thought of that quote after hearing that a man who had a big influence on my life, missionary John Abel, had died. For most of his 94 years John was more alive than most anyone I have ever known. It is hard to imagine him being even more alive. But that is the sure hope we have because Jesus has risen from the dead.

I had the privilege of spending much time with John in Brazil, where he was a missionary for many years. The first time I was there I was a 24-year-old seminary intern. I thought I was fairly energetic, but it was all I could do to keep up with John who was in his 60s then. John always had an abundance of plans. There were people he wanted to see and things he wanted to get done. Sometimes we were short on time, but never short on goals and ideas.

One trip we headed out for a weekend to a couple little towns called Iretama and Cidade Poema. We were going from one town to the next, heading down a hill on a dirt road. At the bottom of the hill was a creek with two boards across it. The boards didn’t look like they were much wider than the tires on John’s truck. John maybe sensed what I was thinking because he said, “Those boards aren’t too wide so you have to be sure you hit them just right.” He also seemed to sense the question that was on my mind: “If we have to hit them just right, why are we flying down this hill so fast?” He said, “We have to keep up a good speed so we’ll have enough momentum to make it up the hill on the other side.” We made it across the creek and, while sliding around a little bit, made it up the hill on the other side. Just another enjoyable and memorable adventure with John.

John had the smarts, talent and energy to do all kinds of things with his life. Why did he spend so much of his life going across creeks and up and down dirt roads? Why did he visit homes and accept hospitality and eat and drink things that he knew might make him sick later? Why move to the interior of Brazil back when it was just beginning to be developed? Because people need to hear the good news of Jesus. “And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them?” (Romans 10:14). People of Iretama and Cidade Poema and all the other cities and towns of the world aren’t going to know Jesus and His great gift of salvation unless somebody goes and tells them. It is worth making sacrifices and giving our all in order to let people know what Jesus has done.

During these days of the coronavirus and stay-at-home orders, congregations are having to figure out other ways to declare God’s Word, doing things like live streaming services and using FM transmitters and being creative. It is the kind of thing I could see John doing, using whatever means he could and doing whatever he could to share with people the good news of Jesus.

In a TV commercial years ago an actor proclaimed: “When you have your health, you have just about everything.” Many people think like that in our world. It’s understandable. When your body is hurting it affects your attitude and emotions. Some think if they can just protect their body and keep it healthy and pain-free, everything will be fine.

The coronavirus has swept over our world and done a lot of damage to many bodies. For those in our culture who only think of the physical it’s a scary time. Sadly many feel if they don’t have their health, they have nothing. They fear their physical health being taken away because they have nothing else to give them hope and security.

God created us as more than just physical beings. Our hope and meaning for life is not taken away if a virus attacks our body. Jesus said, “I tell you, my friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body and after that can do no more” (Luke 12:4). He follows that by saying the One who is to be feared is the One who determines our eternal destiny. A virus can only harm the body. It can’t kill the soul. Jesus is the Lord over both our body and soul.

We want bodies to be well. We pray for that and we serve one another and do what we can to help bodies to be healthy. We also want souls to be healthy. We care about the whole person as expressed in III John 2: “Dear friend, I pray that you may enjoy good health and that all may go well with you, even as your soul is getting along well.”

Our society devotes vast amounts of time, energy and resources to making bodies well. Sadly, though, many give little attention to the health of their soul and the health of their relationship with God.  Some bodies are hurting these days because of the coronavirus, but even more souls are in great pain and danger. People are being overtaken by fear and panic. Jesus is the One who can bring healing to hurting souls.

This time of year, as we remember Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross, we are thankful that He knows better than any of us what it means to have a body that hurts. “Surely he took up our infirmities” (Isaiah 53:4). His body was crucified but risen again. He won the victory over death and lives forever. Because of His resurrection we no longer fear death. “Death has been swallowed up in victory. Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?” (I Corinthians 15:54-55).

When you have faith in the crucified and risen Lord Jesus, then you have everything. Our bodies are temporary, earthly tents that get damaged and perish, but our souls are made alive in Christ. We have the great hope of one day receiving new pain-free bodies. Viruses and diseases come and go, but the love of Christ and the new life He gives remains forever.