A Little Ripple

These are discouraging times for many. No one can be certain about his or her future with regard to religious freedom as we watch it dwindle daily (Have you seen what Amazon is removing from their book department?!). Politically, Christianity is being portrayed as bigoted and closed-minded. The murder of babies in the womb continues unabated in spite of several places where people are working feverishly to change that.

God’s judgment would appear to be upon us.

Through these things and the Covid lockdowns there has been a major increase in the occurrence of anxiety, depression, and suicides. It was recently reported that those who are doing the best with mental health are those who have been meeting in their churches.[i] We are made for interactions with others. Isolation is the enemy for most people.

The question for many seems to be, “How are Christians to love their neighbor when the leadership is lacking at all levels of government and in many cases, in the Church?” No one is telling us what to do that would honor God, only that which honors the politics of the day.

We have responsibilities within the church that do not change because there is a pandemic. “Love one another. Serve one another. Encourage one another. Spur one another on to love and good works. Do not forsake the gathering of believers.”

This is all done much better face-to-face than it is online or in person in a mask, making sure to keep a distance between us and the person we are “loving.”

We need to think about who the neighbors are that we are to love as we love ourselves?

The government line is that we are loving our neighbors by staying away and wearing a mask if we “must” go near them. This has created distrust between people. It has resulted in the problems listed above (anxiety, depression, and suicide). We need the attitude of Queen Esther, “If I perish, I perish” as she was going in to try to save her people.

We are probably not in a position to save a people group or the nation. But, can we make some small ripple in the waters of fear and anxiety that might bring some relief to those who are so anxious and afraid that they are isolating themselves from all other humanity?

The Pastor in Canada who is imprisoned for opening his church so his congregation could worship the Lord is being persecuted (and prosecuted) for standing firmly for the Word of God. His imprisonment is bringing a lot of discussion to the current state of things in our nation where the death rate owing to COVID is extremely low and the numbers of new cases are dwindling (the truth of which also applies to Canada).

Pastor Coates stands to create a great big ripple on the waters of all that is happening.

But what about little ol’ you and me? What can we do? In our attempts to love, serve, and encourage others are we willing to face our fears, speak the truth in love, and buck the humanistic rulings to follow the Word of God?

Maybe we will make a little ripple in the big scheme of things but a big ripple for someone who is fearful or just needs some relief from the isolation.

 

 

 

[i] https://dailycaller.com/2020/12/09/churches-houses-of-worship-mental-health-improves-covid-democrats/