We're living during a time that most people on the planet have never experienced before. A worldwide pandemic is sweeping every man, woman, and child - every religion, sexual orientation, and class. For the first time in as long as most of us can remember, we're all realizing how equal we really are.
For these past two or so weeks, it seems that Christians are leaning into these messages: "God is our refuge." "God will grant us Peace." "This too shall pass." "Trust in the LORD." "Be still and know that I am God." "Lean not on your own understanding."
You've heard this too, yes? The Bible is full of these messages. And they seem more applicable now that ever for many of us. It's mentioned in the Bible something like 365 times that we should not fear. That God has this. "Have I not commanded you be strong and courageous, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you will go" - Joshua 1:9.
While some Christians are really leaning into the "Thou shalt not fear" aspect of COVID, others are leaning into their trust in God. Or more specifically, that God won't test us beyond what we can handle. This is referencing Paul when he writes in 1 Corinthians 10:13 that God is faithful - that he won't let us be tempted beyond what we can bear. So regardless of how bad COVID gets, God is bigger. And God isn't going to test us beyond our breaking point.
And yet, it seems that more Christians need to be careful about our confidence. Or maybe better put: perhaps we ought to be leaning into the severity of this moment a bit more. As Paul continues his letter to the Corinthians, he warns them against celebrating the risen Christ and, more specifically, moving on too quickly from the death of Jesus. The point being: the Hope we have in Jesus should not be taken for granted. The assuredness of a resurrection exists because of hindsight. And so while it's important to look towards God as our refuge and strength, and it's important to remember that He warns us against fear, there is also something incredibly valuable to sitting in the darkness. Apparently, when we allow the gravity of these low moments to affect us, something else occurs in us. In other words, we need to be careful to not move on too quickly from the hurt that we're in. Because if we do, we may miss something that God has for us there as well.
When Abraham took Isaac up to the mountain after God told him to sacrifice his son, the story goes that Abraham gave him the wood and Abraham took the fire and the knife. Some scholars suggest that Abraham didn't want Isaac to carry the dangerous materials of the sacrifice - that Abraham didn't want Isaac's mind to wander into fear. Abraham wanted to be sure that Isaac didn't have to carry what would eventually overtake him. And while the story ends with God stopping the child sacrifice from happening, the journey up the mountain is where we find the real value of this story. It's there we find the intensity and the weight and Abraham's faith and his sorrow. If we move onto God's saving of Isaac before we wrestle with the journey up the mountain, we miss the point of the story altogether.
May we trust in God to be our strength. May we not choose fear in this moment. May we hope that this current moment will pass quickly while we hold onto faith that it eventually will. But may we also choose to sit in this moment and allow the gravity of it to weigh on us. And may we let it truly, deeply affect us.
Grace and Peace.
No comments:
Post a Comment