Everything has changed.
And nothing has.
This is the constant loop I find myself in, especially as a follower of Jesus. The world is changing, Coronavirus has it’s grip on the nations and it doesn’t appear to be letting go any time soon. But I also worship a God who is unchanging. The song I chose for my baptism on my 18th Birthday declared that he is the same ‘yesterday, today and forever.’
It is easy to get caught up in the panic, the madness of people’s response to this threat, which ultimately in the West is just revealing humanity’s fragility. When we thought we had it all together, along comes a virus to reveal we are not as “secure” as we thought. Even as an asthmatic I can take my health, and healthcare for granted. For years health epidemics have been in other nations, and we have been able to show concern from a distance. We can watch comic relief, maybe shed a tear, and donate, only to turn it off, our Netflix on and watch the next series with a tub of Pringles and a cherry Pepsi. All the while having a confidence that our future is secure. But now we have been exposed, we are just as fragile as everyone else, our home comforts can only protect us to some extent, and some of those we can’t even buy in the shops.
As a Christian, I keep hearing the phrase ‘faith over fear’ which I 100% believe to be true, but how do we actually live that out, and turn it into something that is tangible and not just a sound-bite? I think first we have to shift our perspective, back to God and his kIngdom.
Matthew 6:33-34 says ‘But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.’
Here Jesus tells us to get our thought life straight, to let God be our starting place.To see everything else through this lens. If we remind ourselves of the narrative of the Bible we see that God is the creator of all things, who stepped into human history through his son Jesus, to save and redeem the world from its brokenness, and who will return one day to make all things new.
This is why John is shown a vision which he shares through the book of Revelation, which in amongst all of its imagery reminds the churches, who were facing widespread persecution and hardship, that Jesus is in control. I shared at the weekend at Church that sometimes I get tense watching a TV program to such an extent that I have to find out how it ends, so I google it as I watch. When I know what happens, I then sit back and am able to watch the program differently, still with enjoyment, still with some of the tension but with a peace because I know how it ends.
God is in control, he is not panic buying, or wondering what the future holds, and although the current crisis may be something we have never experienced before, crisis is not new to the world. Disaster, fear, and the threat to life are not new realities. We don’t have to look too far across the world to see famine or war or natural disasters, and we don’t need to look too far back into human history to see illnesses that have decimated nations. So yes the world feels like it is changing, but it always has and always is, we are often just too self focused to see it.
This has been one of the challenges for me, as someone who lives in one of the wealthiest nations on earth, that I take for granted my regular income, my health, my home, and my family. For many around the world these threats are nothing new, this is just a new form of the same threat they have faced since the day they were born.
This virus has made us open our eyes to our own vulnerability, to humanity’s brokenness, and the question that is left is how do we respond? Some governments are responding differently to others, each being questioned by the media. Some experts suggest one way, and others another. What is clear is that the world has turned insular, flights are stopping, borders are closing, people are stocking their cupboards to the detriment of others, and we are isolating ourselves (for good reason). In this new world, as temporary (hopefully) as it may be, we need one another more than ever.
To live a life of faith, therefore, is to trust Jesus in all things, and to continue to follow his commands to love him, placing him before all else. That means we don’t stop pursuing him, or asking him to reveal his purpose for our lives, in the everyday of our lives, even if our everydayness descends into chaos. It also means we should continue to love one another. That may be offering to get some shopping, or checking in on elderly or vulnerable neighbours, but it could also be to ensure you self-isolate if you feel unwell.
And know that you can wash your hands and have faith! Faith is about trust, recognising that God is our ultimate source of protection. We don’t just blindly cross roads declaring how faithful we are, faith is not a magic wand, it is daily steps of seeking first God’s kingdom above all else. So you can wash your hands, and trust Jesus by handing it over to him (pardon the pun!). Jesus said you could have faith as small as a mustard seed and move mountains, but he said this not to give us a litmus test of how much faith we need or have, but to reveal a more fundamental point that it is not about how much faith we have, but about who we put our faith in.
How do we live everyday in the chaos and uncertainty? By seeking God first, the God who never changes.
Trust him when everything around you is changing.
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