This week we had a conference call with someone who has helped churches and other organizations navigate refugee sponsorship cases. Although the present situation makes it difficult to move fully ahead at the present time, we are still planning, organizing, and investigating all kinds of ministry opportunities. Refugee sponsorship is one such opportunity. Our conversation was also a sobering reminder that millions of people in the world have a lived experience that is far, far more difficult than anything we’ve experienced with our social distancing and isolation. We go into a grocery store and can’t find a few of our regular items, but there are many in the world who are starving. We might feel overly restricted in our homes, but many others are homeless. We haven’t been able to gather for a regular church service for three weeks, but many face prison, persecution, or death every time they assemble for worship in secret. This is a time to band together to help one another, but it is also a reminder of how high our standard of living is, and how much freedom we normally enjoy.
Right now, we have to honestly face the fact that we don’t have any idea how long these conditions will continue in our society. We don’t know if things may slow down and then rise in a second wave. New information keeps being released, and the modelling differs in ranges of best to worst case scenarios. There is so much that we don’t know.
What we do know is that God is worthy of worship. If God ordained for us to meet on Easter Sunday to worship corporately, then we would. But that is not what he has done. Our responsibility is not to speculate on things we can’t know, but rather to worship God in the situations we are in. Worship is not on hold until church services resume. Ministry is not on hold. Love, mercy, and grace are not on hold. Our normal church activities are on hold, but there must be a way for us to minister to one another, love our neighbours, and love God during this time. Pray about it. What is God calling us to do? What opportunities do we have now that we’ve never had before? If these are “unprecedented times” then do we have “unprecedented opportunities?” Even if this situation isn’t good, God can still bring good from it (Romans 8:28). Let’s not be afraid over this time—let’s stretch our faith.
Sincerely,
Steve