At the moment, many will feel isolated and locked in
wondering things will return to normal. But what is normal? One person’s normal
might not be another person’s normal. When it comes to our own understanding of
the church, maybe we want it to return to the normal of how it used to be
before the virus. But what is normal when it comes to the church? do we mean
the local church or the worldwide church of the body of Christ?
If I were to answer these questions as to the church, I would
answer, yes. That is, it is both the local and worldwide church. Things may not
physically go back to the way they were before. How could we go on merely doing
church as before? One thing that can change is our perception of the church.
Yes, it is the local
church, but our local church is part of the bigger worldwide church of Jesus
Christ. The reason is, there is only one Church as Paul stated to the
Christ-followers at Ephesus,
“There is one body and one Spirit” (Eph 4:4 ESV).
Notice he used the illustration of a body to speak the church—the
body with its various parts that go to make up the whole.
So, what can we as the one
Church (body) learn from these times that we are in at the moment to help us
into the future? Three things to think about and work together to work out how
to better serve others. The following are based on a message from Rabbi
Jonathan Sacks,[1]
·
We are a global human race made up of many parts. Some have
already come to the realisation that we are children of the Father, but there
are others who have not.
How do we band together as the one body of Christ to find these
ones and point them to the Father through Jesus Christ in the power of the Holy
Spirit?
·
All of us as the human race have been humbled by a tiny microscopic
virus, Christ-follower and nonChrist-follower. Maybe we have gotten too big for
our boots and this event has humbled us. So, how can we be better and more
humble people moving forward?
·
We are all in crisis this together. Some will live, and some
will die, but as a human race, we are not immune.
How can we better serve
our fellow human beings during and after this crisis?
Remember that we are
part of a bigger picture.
Pause
in His presence for a moment and think this over…
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