‘In these grim times we all need a saviour and right now it is Chris Whitty’. This headline from a Guardian newspaper article was brought to my attention recently. It was published on the 11th January 2021.[1] What the writer indicated as the reason for his assertion was that Professor Whitty was, ‘Just about the only person left whom anyone can trust to tell the country the naked truth about coronavirus’.
For me, this raised a couple of points. First, whilst Professor Whitty may have many personal qualities and be an excellent scientist, highly regarded in his field, I would not think that he quite fits the billing as ‘a Saviour’, except, perhaps, with a small ‘s’ and solely in the context of the UK’s answer to the present pandemic. What do I mean?
Simply, we have all just celebrated one of the greatest events in human history, although whether people realized it is debatable. On a hillside outside of Bethlehem some 2000 years ago, the angels proclaimed this fact, ‘For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord’.[2] Who was this Saviour? Jesus of Nazareth, the Son of God. The message to Joseph was, ‘thou shalt call his name Jesus: for he shall save his people from their sins’.[3] The ability of the Lord Jesus is not just to save us for a time from coronavirus but to save us from the consequences of sin and forever. He is the only one who can provide us with the assurance of sins forgiven and a home in heaven. Those who walked with the Lord Jesus acknowledged, ‘the Father sent the Son to be the Saviour of the world’.[4]
Second, the writer of the article asserted that Professor Whitty was the only person who could be trusted to tell us the truth about the present virus. Whether you agree is unimportant, but the reality is a challenge. Where do we find truth in 2021? There are a multitude of conspiracy theories being circulated about 5G, the virus and the vaccines. Are any of them true, or is there any element of truth in any of them? Finding truth in a world of ‘fake news’ is a challenge. However, Jesus Christ said, ‘I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me’.[5] As the Son of God, we can rely upon His word as truth. Will you believe Him and accept Him as your Saviour?