My Personal Passover

The Israelites had lived in Egypt 430 years. At the end of the 430 years, to the very day, God’s entire army left Egypt. God kept watch all night, watching over the Israelites as he brought them out of Egypt. Because God kept watch, all Israel for all generations will honor God by keeping watch this night—a watchnight.

(Exodus 12:42 MSG)

When my twin nephews–my brother’s firstborn sons–were born three months prematurely and their life was in constant danger, I was reminded of another story where someone else’s firstborn sons also faced the threat of death. As I sat across the boys’ NICU rooms, listening to the beeping sounds of their heart and blood pressure monitors and the countless other devices they were attached to, I couldn’t help but think back to that first Passover. How God’s people tried to protect their firstborn sons from the destroying angel. They were instructed to take the blood of the lamb and smear it on their doorposts, a sign to God that this was an Israelite home, to be passed over, while death was visited upon the firstborns in all other homes.

I’m thankful that my nephews were kept safe and well by the blood of the Lamb–the Son of God–and the prayers of many. We hung the following Scripture on their doors as a declaration of God’s promise over their lives, “The thief comes only in order to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have and enjoy life, and have it in abundance (to the full, till it overflows)” (John 10:10 AMPC). We watched as threats of death passed over them time and time again. God truly kept watch over our babies until He finally brought them out of the NICU. That was my personal experience with Passover.

The Bible reminds us that Christ, our Passover Lamb, has been sacrificed (1 Corinthians 5:7). “For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins” (Colossians 1:13-14 NIV). We’ve been saved from bondage to sin and Satan to be free to serve Christ. He has delivered us from death and given us eternal life. And as we fight this new virus, we’re assured of the same power of the blood of Christ to make the pandemic pass over us.