Happy April Fools Day!
Actually, that’s what I keep hoping for. I keep hoping that the call to isolate and the terrible sickness throughout our world would be brushed aside as some kind of complex trick.
But it isn’t.
COVID-19 has disrupted our fairly stable day-to-day and has left us with feelings of confusion, of disappointment, of loneliness, of fear, and (as Jordan Mason highlighted the other day) of grief.
These are powerful and sometimes overwhelming emotions. How are we meant to live faithful to our walk when we are facing these sorts of challenges?
One answer can be found by looking back into the text of Scripture to see how the early church faced its challenges.
Let’s look at Hebrew 10:19-25.
Therefore, brothers and sisters, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near to God with a sincere heart and with the full assurance that faith brings, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.
He who promised is faithful.
The early church’s challenges were different than ours but the promise remains the same: that in Christ the way has been opened and we can draw near to God. Circumstances, though difficult, cannot break that bond. Jesus is Lord over all even death. And though it can be hard to remember we need to focus on the promise of redemption, of new life, of resurrection, and of hope.
Spur one another to love and good deeds.
I am always ready to turn on Netflix and to shut down for a bit. You don’t have to remind me to jump onto Facebook or Instagram. But I am not as motivated to do good deeds and to love others. It’s not that I don’t like to do those things but I forget. I need to be spurred on toward these things. Let’s keep talking about how we can show God’s love to people in a time where they really need it.
Don’t give up meeting together.
Ok so this passage wasn’t written with global pandemics in mind but the truth of this passage remains: we need each other to survive. Yes, you can’t be in the same space but you can:
- Text
- Write a letter.
- Email.
- Call
- Do the #myw30 on Instagram
- Play a Game
- Pray for each other
- Watch a show together.
There are so many ways of being together while physically being apart. Lean into them. Lean into each other.
Sending you my love and prayers.
Pat
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