It will take Time...
No-one knows how the last year has affected people, churches, families and nations. It is likely that the true impact will never be known, and what can be known will only really emerge over a longer period of time.
This is how all crises work, from divorce to war. Only after long periods of time does the true harvest of the crisis reveal itself.
And we must remember that we all react very differently to the same crisis! Some
people I have spoken to have actually enjoyed
the peace and quiet that has been given to them. During the first
lock-down a furloughed neighbour said that life was like a long holiday!
For others, and especially those on the frontline, the last year has
been extremely difficult, and especially those on the frontline who have had
to homeschool children. And then in the middle of this easy-to-difficult spectrum
are those who have experienced no change, whose life and work load continued
as per normal, such as those who could continue working as normal or those
whose lives were already confined to home by illness or circumstance.
Here are six warnings that every believer needs to bear in mind and six encouragements to rejoice in.
Six dangers to be Aware of
1) The danger of unsound doctrine. Some Christians have had much more time on their hands, and have used that time to scour the internet, and perhaps especially YouTube for preachers who agree with them. Paul warned that the time would come when people "would not put up with sound doctrine. Instead to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear." (2 Timothy 4:3) Never in the history of the world has it been so possible to gather such "a great number of teachers."
Notice that these teachers say what "their itching ears want to hear." Sound doctrine to these Christians is boring, what they are after is novelty. So they find teachers who agree with them and before long they find themselves waking down an ever-narrowing echo chamber.
2) The danger of no teaching. Other Christians may have got out of the habit of listening to any sermons, because they have got out of the habit of tuning into their local church Sunday by Sunday. Without the natural social pressure of other brothers and sisters knowing they are present, it is easy to slip in this way.
Although there is no doubt sound teaching to be found on the web, the first place every Christian should go for their teaching is their local congregation and their local church pastors and elders.
3) Losing touch with our local church. With so many churches streaming live or pre-recorded services it would be quite easy for a believer to drift away from their own local church and begin permanently listening to another - perhaps with better music or a shorter sermon! And to drift from their local fellowship.
4) The danger of no fellowship. It would be easy to take the path of least resistance and give up meeting with other brothers and sisters altogether. It would be easy to neglect the many ways that are still open for fellowship today. We can call someone on the phone, we can text them or email them. We can join a zoom group, we can meet up one to one.
5) The danger of a listless spiritual life. One of the great blessings we all hope will emerge from the last year is a fresh understanding of how much fellowship affects and builds us up spiritually. Without mutual encouragement and exhortation we do not really grow much as believers (except in forced solitary prison confinement where the Lord may overrule the normal means of grace). we hear of even mature Christians feeling spiritually 'flat'. This should not surprise us because we get a spiritual spur when we meet one another.
6) The danger of sinful habits. Without other believrs to challenge us and admonish us it could be easy to get into sinful habits of both omission or commision.
In spite of these potential dangers, it has been exciting to see the following blessings of the last year.
Six Blessings to thank God for
1) Sounder doctrine. Preachers have had to reduce the time they preach to 25 minutes or so. This may sound strange, but preaching a shorter means more attention to the words we use and sharper doctrine.
2) More fellowship. In my own church, more people are in "fellowship" via zoom than in real life. This is because couples are able to both come, and because you don't have to hop in a car!
3) Many acts of kindess. It has been humbling to hear of the many acts of kindess taking place between members of the flock. People cooking meals on a regular basis. People phoning and whatsapping and zooming one another.
4) A longing for 'real fellowship.' How often this has come up! Christians longing to meet up again. May we never take real-life fellowship for granted again!
5) A renewed love for one another. We may not be able to see and talk with one another, but we can pray for one another. And so we have found that prayer for one another has grown, and that is a sign of greater love. Who we love we pray for.
6) Increased Perseverance. Perhaps one of the greatest blessings of a prolonged trial is the development of an invisible quality - perseverance. We have just had to keep on going and be patient. And so the beautiful grace of perseverance has grown.
These are just a few pastoral observations of mine. May the Lord use them to both warn his people and encouarge them.
We know for sure that this pandemic was known by the Lord and will ultimately serve to build his glorious kingdom.
A SONG FOR THE DAY
The first songs I want to sing on the first Sunday back is this one:
Come, people of the Risen King
Who delight to bring Him praise
Come all and tune your hearts to sing
To the Morning Star of grace
From the shifting shadows of the earth
We will lift our eyes to Him
Where steady arms of mercy reach
To gather children in
Rejoice, rejoice! Let every tongue rejoice!
One heart, one voice; O Church of Christ, rejoice!
Come, those whose joy is morning sun
And those weeping through the night
Come, those who tell of battles won
And those struggling in the fight
For His perfect love will never change
And His mercies never cease
But follow us through all our days
With the certain hope of peace
Rejoice, rejoice! Let every tongue rejoice!
One heart, one voice; O Church of Christ, rejoice!
Come, young and old from every land
Men and women of the faith
Come, those with full or empty hands
Find the riches of His grace
Over all the world, His people sing
Shore to shore we hear them call
The Truth that cries through every age:
"Our God is all in all"!
Rejoice, rejoice! Let every tongue rejoice!
One heart, one voice; O Church of Christ, rejoice!
Rejoice, rejoice! Let every tongue rejoice!
One heart, one voice; O Church of Christ, rejoice!
Townend / Getty
A PRAYER FOR THE DAY
Our gracious and loving Father in heaven,
We thank you for your precious Word. May we remain faithful to your Word in these days. May we remain in fellowship with your people. May we be aware of the dangers around us and rejoice in the blessings.
We thank you for the church, both worldwide and local. May we love both as we love the Lord Jesus who is their Head.
We ask these things in Jesus' Name
Amen
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