I had lunch with a friend this week, and we grieved over the state of our culture while chowing down our burgers, salads and fries (hey, at Red Robin, you MUST get fries). The coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19) has caused damage, confusion and division none of us could have predicted just a few months ago.

The tragic death of George Floyd reminds us of the deep wounds of racism coupled with injustice in our world. Our frail economy makes us all wonder what “normal” will even look like in the months ahead.

He asked me, what do you think it would take to turn our nation around? How can we possibly see harmony, health, peace and justice reign?

We both agreed it seems like an increasingly distant and impossible dream. We also agreed that the only true remedy for our world is a spiritual one.

If you are a Christ-follower, then do your best to make the upcoming season of post-covid reopening a true season of coming alive spiritually. Now more than ever, our world needs Christians who are the salt of the Earth, and the light of the World.

Salt has to do with preservation and flavor. Light helps us find our way. Flavor your workplace, your neighborhood, your church with love, with hope and with an optimistic faith. Let your light shine in a way that shows people a loving, compassionate and forgiving heart that also yearns for justice (see Micah 6:8).

Model a life that has been clarified through three months of a global shutdown. WE SHOULD KNOW the things that really matter. Our faith and love for Jesus, for others, and for ourselves is far more important than the hectic, cluttered pace we lived up until late February 2020.

In the early 1700s, our nation had a societal turnaround that was driven by the ONLY thing that can turn a nation around (in a healthy way). It was a cultural renewal that began in the hearts of the early colonists, historians call it “The Great Awakening.”

Preachers like John Wesley (in England), and George Whitefield and Jonathan Edwards in America reminded people that when God is first in our lives, He will guide, provide and bless the rest.

My barber is a young man whose love for God is passionate and contagious. Today, he preached his own mini-sermon to me as his clippers buzzed about my head. He said, “the way I see it, the ONLY thing that can truly help our nation is to heal and restore the hearts of our citizens, and only the creator of our souls can do that.”

People need Jesus. He brings forgiveness and purpose. He enables us to forgive and to love, He softens our hearts and gives us peace.

As you re-enter our post-covid world, do so with a loving passion for Jesus, for your church, and for people who are far from God. Imagine how difficult this season must be for people who don’t have Jesus to help them through it. You must model Him for them! As I am often reminded, you and I are the best, and perhaps the only version of Jesus some people know.