At the time of writing, the Covid 19 virus is wreaking its havoc medically, socially and economically around the world. Everyone now has to find an entirely new way of living as they practice ‘social distancing.’ This is an extraordinarily difficult thing to do in practice, as it is our relationships and our social connections that give us meaning and identity.
Times of crisis bring the best and the worst out in people. We see the selfishness of people fighting over toilet rolls, and we see the grace of people handing out food to those who are shut in. It has been said that if you want to find out what is contained in a glass, bump it so that some of it spills. We have all been ‘bumped.’ What, I wonder, has spilt out of you?
Christians are no more immune from suffering and pandemics than anyone else. As the Bible says, “the rain falls on the just and the unjust” (Matthew 5:45). Does this mean that God doesn’t occasionally bring his healing to people’s lives? Certainly not. All Christians have the responsibility of seeking God and discerning his will regarding healing when faced with suffering. But miracles of healing are, by definition, rare. Therefore, Christians need to be as wise and vigilant as anyone else when putting into place measures that will help them and their families stay safe.
Christians have an extraordinary advantage over those who do not know God. We have one foot in the brutal reality of this world, and another in the kingdom of God that is to come. This means that we can view the challenges of ‘now’ from the perspective of eternity in which God has promised to “wipe away every tear,” (Revelation 21:4). As such, we can sit over times of suffering rather than be crushed under them. Suffering and death do not have the last word for Christians. God does.
You and I have been chosen to exist at this particular time in history. God has reserved us for this time. So, let me say: “This is our time. This is our time to shine and leave our mark on people’s lives and on history’s page.”
When the world despairs of life; let them see our hope. When the world is being selfish and hoarding resources that should be shared; let the church be shocking in its kindness and self-sacrifice. This is the way of Christ. It is also, incidentally, the only way the church can rebuild its shattered reputation in the psyche of the Western world that has scorned the church for the abuses it has allowed to occur within its institutions.
So, may I say again: This is time for the church to be shocking in its level of kindness and self-sacrifice. Only by doing so, will we, the church, be faithful to Jesus’ command. He said:
A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another (John 13:34-35).
It is significant that Jesus says he is issuing a “new command” to love, even though God had already commanded his people to “love your neighbour” centuries earlier in the Old Testament (Leviticus 19:17-18). So what ‘new thing’ was Jesus introducing?
The key phrase that tells us is, “as I have loved you.” In saying this, Jesus is lifting the bar on the quality of love he wants us to show, so that it matches his sort of love, i.e. the sort of love that is sacrificial. Jesus makes this clear a few chapters later in John’s gospel when he says:
My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends (Jn 15:12-13).
This is our challenge for today, dear friends.
